People v. Sessing CA2/6

Filed 7/28/22 P. v. Sessing CA2/6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B314363 (Super. Ct. No. 2005009634) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

NATHAN GREGORY SESSING,

Defendant and Appellant.

Nathan Gregory Sessing appeals following his resentencing on charges of special-circumstance felony murder (Pen, Code,1 §§ 187, subd. (a), 188, 190.2), two counts of residential burglary (§ 459), and assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). Sessing also admitted using a deadly weapon in committing the murder, i.e., a bat and a knife (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)), and the jury found true an allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on the assault victim (§ 12022.7).

All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless 1

otherwise stated.

Sessing, who committed his crimes in 2006 shortly before he turned 18, was initially sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole plus a determinate term of 8 years and 4 months. We subsequently affirmed his conviction on appeal. In 2017, he filed a habeas petition in this court requesting resentencing pursuant to Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. 460 [183 L.Ed.2d 407], which established the punishment for crimes committed when an individual is under the age of 18 must include a possibility of parole. We issued an order to show cause returnable to the trial court. In 2018, while Sessing’s resentencing was pending, he filed a habeas petition in the trial court seeking a juvenile court transfer hearing pursuant to Proposition 57. The trial court granted the petition, conditionally reversed Sessing’s convictions, and referred the matter to the juvenile court for a transfer hearing. Following a March 5, 2020 transfer hearing, the juvenile court found it would have transferred Sessing to adult criminal court and accordingly reinstated his convictions. Sessing filed a habeas petition in the trial court challenging the juvenile court’s transfer decision. After that petition was denied, Sessing filed a habeas petition in this court. We summarily denied the petition, and the California Supreme Court denied Sessing’s petition for review. In July 2021, the trial court resentenced Sessing to 25 years to life on the murder charge plus a one-year enhancement for the weapon use allegation, plus a consecutive term of 8 years and 4 months for the assault and burglary charges. Sessing timely filed a notice of appeal from the resentencing order. We appointed counsel to represent Sessing in this appeal. After counsel’s examination of the record, he filed a brief raising no issues as contemplated in People v. Serrano (2012) 211