People v. Estrada

Filed 12/16/20 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A160032 v. PAUL ESTRADA, (Solano County Super. Ct. No. FC33461) Defendant and Appellant.

Paul Estrada appeals from a post-judgment order denying his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.91.1 We agree with the trial court that Estrada is not eligible for resentencing and affirm. BACKGROUND A. Since 2015, California law has required sentencing courts to consider, as mitigating factors weighing in favor of a low-term determinate sentence, any trauma, substance abuse, and mental health problems caused by a defendant’s service in the United States military. (§ 1170.91, subd. (a); People v. Bonilla-Bray (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 234, 236, 238.) In 2018, the Legislature amended section 1170.91 to allow those sentenced for a felony conviction before January 1, 2015 to petition for a resentencing hearing at

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

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which the court could consider mitigating factors related to military service. (§ 1170.91, subds. (b)(1), (3); People v. Bonilla-Bray, supra, at pp. 236, 238.) B. Estrada killed his estranged wife. In 1993, he pled no contest to second degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and admitted a deadly weapon use enhancement allegation (§ 12022, subd. (b)) for his use of a knife. He was sentenced to an aggregate prison term of 16 years to life. Estrada’s sentence consists of an indeterminate 15-years-to-life term for the murder (§ 190, subd. (a)), plus a consecutive one-year term for the weapon use enhancement. On direct appeal, this court affirmed the judgment. In 2019, Estrada filed a petition in propria persona seeking resentencing under section 1170.91, subdivision (b). In support, he attached evidence of his military service and substance abuse (which allegedly began during his military service). After appointing counsel to represent Estrada, the trial court ruled he was statutorily ineligible for resentencing under section 1170.91 because he was serving an indeterminate term. DISCUSSION A. Estrada contends the trial court misconstrued section 1170.91. After reviewing the question independently (People v. Bonilla-Bray, supra, 49 Cal.App.5th at p. 237), we disagree. 1. Section 1170.91, subdivision (a), provides: “If the court concludes that a defendant convicted of a felony offense is, or was, a member of the United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of his or her military service, the court shall consider the