People v. King CA2/5

Filed 2/14/22 P. v. King CA2/5 Opinion following transfer from Supreme Court NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B308568

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. GA084339) v.

SABRINA OCTAVIA KING,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Darrell Mavis, Judge. Reversed and remanded.

Jonathan E. Demson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Acting Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Eric J. Kohm, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________

Defendant and appellant Sabrina Octavia King appeals from the trial court’s denial of her petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95.1 Due to an intervening change in the law, the Attorney General agrees the denial must be reversed and the matter remanded. We agree. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On November 14, 2012, defendant and codefendant Davon Moore were charged by information with a single count of murder (§ 187) and the felony murder special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)). Defendant entered a plea of not guilty. On March 27, 2014, on the prosecution’s motion, the court amended the information to add a count of manslaughter (§ 192) with a gang enhancement (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(C)), and one count of robbery (§ 211). Defendant then entered no contest pleas to the new counts, and admitted the gang enhancement. She was sentenced to an agreed-upon term of 21 years in prison. The murder charge was dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement. On August 30, 2019, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.95, and requested appointment of counsel. On November 5, 2019, the trial court summarily denied the petition, on the basis that section 1170.95 relief was available only for individuals convicted of murder, while defendant was convicted of manslaughter. On September 8, 2020, defendant filed a second section 1170.95 petition, in which she explained that she had pleaded to manslaughter in lieu of going to trial on a felony-murder charge. She further asserted that she had agreed, and planned, to rob the victim, and had not anticipated that her codefendant would use