People v. Simmons CA2/8

Filed 5/1/25 P. v. Simmons CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B337632

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA074404-01 v.

GREGORY SIMMONS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Judith Levey Meyer, Judge. Affirmed and remanded with instructions.

Jonathan E. Demson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth C. Byrne and Allison H. Chung, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________

On April 25, 2008, appellant Gregory Simmons pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter and admitted gun and gang enhancement allegations. The trial court sentenced Simmons to an aggregate determinate prison term of 31 years. On December 20, 2023, Simmons filed a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 The petition was a pre-printed form geared towards meeting the requirements for facial validity and appointment of counsel. The form allows the petitioner to declare eligibility for relief by checking boxes next to statements that correspond to statutory requirements for relief, including that petitioner was subject to prosecution and conviction under an invalid theory and could not presently be convicted because of changes to homicide law. The trial court appointed counsel for Simmons and ordered the People to file a response to the petition. The People filed a response which included, as an exhibit, a transcript of the preliminary hearing. Considering the transcript of the preliminary hearing, the trial court found that a prima facie showing of eligibility for relief had not been made, found Simmons ineligible for sentencing relief as a matter of law and summarily denied the petition. This appeal followed. Simmons contends the court improperly denied his petition at the prima facie stage because the record of conviction did not establish as a matter of law that he was ineligible for resentencing, and the court could not have denied his petition without improperly engaging in factfinding.