People v. Cupelli CA5

Filed 7/21/25 P. v. Cupelli CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F088772 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SF015290A) v.

RYAN HEATH CUPELLI, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Kern County. Kenneth C. Twisselman II, Judge. Ryan Heath Cupelli, in propria persona; and Richard L. Fitzer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Franson, Acting P. J., Meehan, J. and Fain, J.† † Judge of the Fresno Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

INTRODUCTION Ryan Heath Cupelli, appellant, appeals from the denial of a petition for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1172.6.2 On appeal, appellate counsel filed a brief that summarized the facts with citations to the record, raised no issues, and asked this court to independently review the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. Appellant filed a letter in lieu of a supplemental brief raising several issues. Appellant argued there was a failure to do a sufficient investigation of his underlying conviction, that the witnesses in his trial were inconsistent or untruthful, and that his attorney during the section 1172.6 proceeding failed to consider a codefendant’s statement or to call the codefendant as a witness. We affirm the trial court’s order denying the petition for resentencing. STATEMENT OF FACTS3 Appellant and codefendant Gilbert Luke Newsom were convicted of second degree murder, and codefendant Jacob Willard Lee was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the death of Jerry Crook, a fellow inmate at Wasco State Prison. A witness standing about 10 feet away who saw the attack described appellant and Newsom hitting and kicking Crook. Crook rolled into a ball and tried to get between the bunk beds, and “kept asking what he had done, saying he did not know his attackers.” Appellant then used the bunk beds to lift himself up before slamming both feet down on Crook’s head. Crook’s head hit the concrete floor, and he stopped calling out, while appellant jumped on Crook’s head and body over five more times, until Crook stopped moving. In the meantime, Newsom continued to kick and hit Crook, including in the head. Another witness, who saw the attack from about eight to 10 bunks away, stated