People v. White CA3

Filed 10/3/22 P. v. White CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C094499

v. (Super. Ct. No. 04F07255)

JOHN DOUGLAS WHITE,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant John Douglas White appeals from the trial court’s denial of his Penal Code section 1172.61 petition for resentencing on his murder conviction. He contends the trial court should not have summarily denied the petition. Finding merit in his contention, we will reverse the order denying defendant’s section 1172.6 petition and remand the matter with directions for the trial court to issue an order to show cause under section 1172.6, subdivision (c) and hold a hearing pursuant to subdivision (d).

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

BACKGROUND The following background is derived from this court’s opinion in defendant’s direct appeal. (People v. Campaz (Apr. 27, 2010, C056880 & C058484) [nonpub. opn.] (Campaz).) Maintenance workers found a body in a park restroom. The victim had died of multiple stab wounds. (Campaz, supra, C056880 & C058484.) Codefendant Roberto Moreno Montoya testified it was defendant’s idea to kill the victim. According to Montoya, defendant said to Montoya and codefendant Carlos Tomas Campaz, Jr., that the victim raped his sister, so the victim “ ‘had to go.’ ” Defendant “brainstormed various scenarios but settled on luring the victim to the park on the pretext that someone wanted to buy drugs from the victim.” Defendant showed Montoya and Campaz two knives he was carrying. (Campaz, supra, C056880 & C058484.) After doing drugs with the victim, Montoya drove the victim to the park in defendant’s pickup truck. At the park they met up with defendant and Campaz. They all went into the public restroom to smoke methamphetamine where, according to Montoya, defendant struck the victim in the face and stabbed him in the chest. Campaz punched the victim in the stomach. Defendant pushed the victim into Montoya, who stabbed the victim in the stomach with a sheath knife. The victim fell to the ground. Defendant repeatedly urged Montoya to “finish him off.” (Campaz, supra, C056880 & C058484.) The jury saw a videotaped police interview in which defendant admitted using the park restroom just before the killing but denied killing the victim. Defendant admitted being angry with the victim over use of defendant’s vehicle and failure to pay money owed for drugs, but defendant said the victim did not know his sister. In the interview defendant declined to implicate anyone else. (Campaz, supra, C056880 & C058484.) However, defendant testified at trial that Campaz and Montoya were responsible for the killing, and all defendant did was dispose of the weapons. Defendant said he