People v. Sanchez CA1/1

Filed 11/4/25 P. v. Sanchez CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A171121 v. GUILLERMO GARCIA SANCHEZ, (Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. 5-170849-4) Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION1 Eight years ago, defendant Guillermo Sanchez was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison for the murder of Isela Moreno. He now appeals from a judgment imposing the same sentence, which was entered after this court remanded for the trial court to decide whether to strike a five-year enhancement under Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a) (section 667(a)) based on his prior conviction of street terrorism.2 (People v. Sanchez (Dec. 20, 2021, A157538) [nonpub. opn.].) Sanchez claims the matter must be remanded again, this time for retrial of the section 667(a) enhancement in light of Assembly Bill No. 333 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill

1 We resolve this case by a memorandum opinion pursuant to

California Standards of Judicial Administration, section 8.1(1). 2 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

No. 333), which narrowed liability for gang-related crimes. We accept the Attorney General’s concession that remand is required for this reason.3 Sanchez stabbed Moreno to death on Thanksgiving 2015. A jury convicted him of first degree murder and found that he personally used a knife during the offense. After Sanchez waived a jury trial on allegations that he had a 2014 conviction for street terrorism under section 186.22, subdivision (a), that constituted a strike and a serious felony, the trial court found them true.4 The court then struck the strike in the interest of justice and sentenced Sanchez to 31 years to life in prison, composed of a term of 25 years to life for the murder and consecutive terms of one year for the knife use and five years for the prior serious felony under section 667(a). Sanchez appealed from the judgment, and in 2021 this court affirmed, except we remanded for the trial court to exercise its new discretion under Senate Bill No. 1393 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) to determine whether to strike the section 667(a) enhancement in the interest of justice under amended section 1385. On July 11, 2024, the trial court declined to strike the enhancement and left the sentence as-is, except for waiving or staying certain fines and fees based on Sanchez’s inability to pay. The issue of the enhancement’s potential invalidity in light of Assembly Bill No. 333 was not raised.