People v. Maldonado CA2/5

Filed 9/23/20 P. v. Maldonado CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B301054

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. YA069639) v.

JUAN MALDONADO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Hector M. Guzman, Judge. Affirmed. Jonathan E. Demson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Daniel C. Chang and Nancy Lii Ladner, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Juan Maldonado appeals from the trial court’s order denying his Penal Code section 1170.951 petition for resentencing on two voluntary manslaughter convictions. We affirm.

II. BACKGROUND

In October 2007, defendant was charged with several offenses including two counts of murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) arising from a robbery during which two people were killed.2 Pursuant to a plea agreement, the murder charges were dismissed and defendant pleaded guilty to, among other charges, two counts of voluntary manslaughter. (§ 192, subd. (a).) In June 2014, the trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years, eight months in state prison. In February 2019, defendant filed his section 1170.95 petition seeking resentencing on his voluntary manslaughter convictions. Among other things, defendant contended that he was entitled to relief because: “I took a plea deal (in lieu of going to trial at which I could have be[en] convicted of 1st or 2nd degree murder at trial) of voluntary manslaughter.” The trial court denied the petition, apparently without appointing counsel to