People v. Hall CA2/1

Filed 11/25/20 P. v. Hall CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B297868

Plaintiff and (Los Angeles County Respondent, Super. Ct. No. A452611)

v.

CHARLES HALL,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Michael A. Cowell, Judge. Affirmed. Barbara A. Smith, 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, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Rene Judkiewicz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________

Charles Hall appeals from a trial court order denying a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95.1 We will affirm the trial court’s order.

BACKGROUND A jury convicted Hall and Paris Dixon, Jr., of the August 4, 1981 murder of Adolph Clarke in connection with their robbery and burglary of his home. (People v. Hall (1984) 157 Cal.App.3d 538, 541-542 (Hall I).) We affirmed the judgment. (Id. at p. 547.) Hall petitioned the trial court for resentencing under section 1170.95. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed initial and supplemental oppositions to Hall’s petition for resentencing. At a hearing on March 11, 2019, the trial court denied Hall’s petition. The trial court stated that it was denying the petition because “in the commission of this offense, the defendant, even if not the actual killer, was a major participant in the underl[ying] felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life.” The trial court also stated that it “recall[ed] this case well. It was back I believe in 1981. It was the first time I had a trial before me where the People were seeking the death penalty. [¶] The defendant, along with Fred Taylor and [Paris] Dixon, co-defendants, attacked [Adolph Clarke] . . . , an 87-year- old apartment manager because they believed he had money. All he had was a box of coins. [¶] He was beaten up. He was hogtied. His back was broken, snapped. And . . . Mr. Hall was a participant in the burglary and in the murder. [¶] The petition is denied.” Hall filed a timely notice of appeal.