People v. Jeffers CA1/3

Filed 10/17/25 P. v. Jeffers CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A168974 v. (San Mateo County DONNELL DARRELL JEFFERS, Super. Ct. No. SC036263A)

Defendant and Appellant.

In 1996, Donnell Darrell Jeffers was sentenced to 58 years to life in prison after being convicted of murder, attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and unlawful possession of a semiautomatic firearm. In 2023, Jeffers petitioned for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.75.1 The trial court struck a one-year prior prison term enhancement but decided against striking any additional enhancements, finding Jeffers remained a danger to others. Jeffers claims the trial court abused its discretion in failing to consider his postconviction injuries. We affirm. BACKGROUND In November 1995, a jury found Jeffers guilty of four felony counts: second degree murder of Karina Ungo (count 1, § 187, subd.(a)); attempted murder of Frank D. (count 2, §§ 664/187, subd. (a)); assault with a semi-

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise stated. 1

automatic firearm (count 3, § 245, subd. (b)); and felon in possession of a firearm (count 4, § 12021, subd. (a)). The jury also found true an enhancement for personal use of a handgun (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) on counts one through three. The trial court found true a prior strike allegation (§ 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)), one serious felony prior allegation (§ 667, subd. (a)), and one prior prison term allegation (§ 667.5, subd. (b).) In February 1996, the trial court sentenced Jeffers to a total of 58 years to life in prison, comprised of: a 39-years-to-life term for count 1 (an indeterminate term of 15 years, doubled based on the prior strike, plus a midterm of four years for the personal use of a firearm enhancement and five years for the serious felony prior); a 19-year consecutive term for count 2 (midterm of 7 years, doubled based on the prior strike, plus a midterm of four years for the personal use of a firearm enhancement and one year for the prison prior); a 13-years and four-month term for count 3 and its enhancements (stayed under section 654); and a four-year concurrent term for count 4 (midterm of two years, doubled based on the prior strike). In August 2023, Jeffers petitioned the trial court for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.75. At the resentencing hearing in October 2023, Jeffers’s counsel discussed the fact that Jeffers was shot in the neck during a 1996 prison disturbance, which was not mentioned in his state court record. Jeffers’s counsel raised various factors for the court’s consideration, including the physical effect that the shooting and the passage of time had on Jeffers, his sense of remorse, the trauma he experienced as a child and adult, his substance abuse, his potential mental illness, his youthful age (27 years old) at the time of the offense, and the fact that he has been reclassified down multiple times and took anger management courses to improve himself.