People v. Thomas CA2/5

Filed 3/19/26 P. v. Thomas CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B343235

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. v. SA008528)

KEVIN ODELL THOMAS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, William L. Sadler, Judge. Affirmed. William L. Heyman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Deepti Vaadyala, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

A jury convicted Kevin Odell Thomas (defendant) of special circumstance murder and second degree robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP). Many years later, he requested a People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261 hearing to preserve evidence for a future youth offender parole hearing. The trial court denied that request because defendant is serving an LWOP sentence that makes him statutorily ineligible for a Franklin hearing. We are asked to decide whether the governing youth offender parole statute that makes him ineligible for a Franklin hearing violates constitutional equal protection or cruel or unusual punishment guarantees.

I. BACKGROUND A. Defendant’s Conviction and Sentencing On the morning of Friday, November 8, 1991, Donald Lee (Lee), who owned a check cashing business, withdrew $64,000 in cash from a branch of Wells Fargo Bank located on South Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles. Moments after Lee left the bank through its rear door, defendant accosted him. Matters escalated quickly with both men drawing guns from their waistbands and opening fire at each other. Lee was hit multiple times and fell to the ground, fatally wounded. Defendant, also wounded, grabbed the bag containing most of Lee’s cash and fled the scene with two accomplices. At the time, defendant was 19 years old.