People v. Mason CA6

Filed 2/10/22 P. v. Mason CA6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H047454 (Monterey County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. SS033582)

v.

SHAVOUGUE ANTOINE MASON,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Shavougue Antoine Mason was convicted by a jury in 2005 of, among other things, three counts of murder after driving drunk and killing a man, a woman, and their unborn child. He was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 45 years to life in prison. Determinate sentences on other counts were imposed and stayed. Defendant petitioned for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.91, which allows current and former members of the United States military to seek resentencing if they are convicted of certain felonies and suffer from mental health or substance abuse issues related to their military service. The trial court denied the petition, determining that the statute does not apply to indeterminate sentences and that the mitigating evidence defendant submitted did not justify a lower stayed determinate sentence. Defendant argues the trial court erred in concluding that indeterminate sentences are statutorily excluded from resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.91; that the statute violates equal protection if it permits resentencing of determinate sentences but not indeterminate sentences; and

that his counsel was ineffective for not explaining to the trial court the extent of its discretion under the full resentencing rule. Finding no prejudicial error, we will affirm. I. TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS According to the factual summary in an unpublished opinion from another panel of this court affirming defendant’s convictions (case No. H028624), defendant was speeding in a residential neighborhood while intoxicated. He drove through a stop sign, crashed into a car, and killed its two adult occupants and their unborn child. Two children riding in the car defendant hit were injured but survived. Defendant fled the scene. A jury convicted defendant of three counts of murder (Pen. Code, § 187); two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (a)), enhanced for fleeing the scene (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (c)); two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (c)(1)), including flight enhancements (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (c)); driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury (Veh. Code, § 21353, subd. (a)), enhanced for personally inflicting great bodily injury on the two adult victims (Pen. Code, § 12022.7, subd. (a)); and driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher causing injury (Veh. Code, § 21353, subd. (b)), also enhanced for personally inflicting great bodily injury on the two adult victims (Pen. Code, § 12022.7, subd. (a)). (Unspecified references are to the Penal Code.) The jury found defendant did not inflict great bodily injury on the unborn child as to the last two counts. Defendant was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 45 years to life in prison for the three murder counts. The parties stipulated to set aside the verdicts for the two vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence counts (§ 192, subd. (c)(1)), as lesser included offenses of other conviction offenses. The trial court imposed and stayed (§ 654) determinate terms for the remaining counts and enhancements. The remaining counts with determinate terms all were sentencing triad felonies. (See § 1170, subd. (b).) 2