People v. Tuvalu CA2/3

Filed 1/14/21 P. v. Tuvalu CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, B304159

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA103060 v.

YUTI ALBERT TUVALU,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Sean D. Coen, 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, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Charles Ragland, Lynne G. McGinnis and Laura Baggett, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________

Defendant and appellant Yuti Albert Tuvalu appeals from the superior court’s summary denial of his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95.1 We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The record on appeal is sparse. In 2008, the People charged Tuvalu with the murder of Christopher Woods. In an amended complaint, the People charged two additional defendants—Francisco Vicente Navarette and Jesus Garcia— with Woods’s murder as well. The People alleged the defendants committed the crime for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang. The People alleged each of the three defendants personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing Woods’s death, and that a principal did so as well. The People alleged three additional counts against Navarette, for carrying a loaded firearm. According to the probation department report,2 on October 3, 2008, officers were called to an address in Carson. They found the semi-conscious victim, moaning. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Witnesses told the police Tuvalu got into an argument with Woods after Woods inadvertently turned off a living room light by leaning against the switch on the wall. Tuvalu approached Woods “and punched him twice in the face, knocking him to the ground.” Navarette and Garcia then “joined in the beating and began kicking and hitting [Woods] while he was on his knees and curled up against the living room sofa.” Someone turned the lights off; then witnesses heard one or two shots. Tuvalu, Navarette,