People v. Hill CA4/3

Filed 6/29/22 P. v. Hill CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G060426

v. (Super. Ct. No. 09CF1955)

CURTIS JAMES HILL, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Michael J. Cassidy, Judge. Affirmed. Ellen M. Matsumoto, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Steve Oetting, Acting Assistant Attorney General, A. Natasha Cortina and Lynne G. McGinnis, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

In 2011, appellant Curtis James Hill was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a special circumstances murder he committed with John McKinney. Because appellant’s jury was not required to decide whether it was him or McKinney who actually killed the victim, appellant contends the trial court erred in summarily denying his 1 petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95. However, in convicting appellant of special circumstances murder, the jury found he personally committed an act that caused the victim’s death. In addition, appellant admitted as part of an earlier guilty plea that he participated in the beating that led to the victim’s death. Under these circumstances, appellant is legally ineligible for resentencing. We therefore affirm the trial court’s denial order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Basic Underlying Facts Early one morning in 2003, 77-year-old Cecil Warren was found lying in the fetal position next to his van in a Huntington Beach parking lot. His face was bloody and swollen, and when the police arrived on the scene, he said he had been “jumped” and “beaten up.” He was taken to the hospital, where he soon lapsed into a coma and was placed on life support. Roughly four years later, he died from bronchopneumonia that was brought about by an infection from his feeding tube. Appellant was connected to the incident via surveillance cameras and DNA. When interviewed by investigators, he said he and McKinney spotted Warren’s van in the parking lot after they had been out drinking. Because the van was open and no one was around it, they decided to go “fuck around” with it. As they were poking around inside the van, Warren appeared and asked them what they were doing. Appellant responded by punching Warren in the face. After Warren slumped to the pavement, appellant searched