People v. Myers CA2/1

Filed 11/29/22 P. v. Myers CA2/1 Opinion on remand from Supreme Court NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B306667

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA061108)

v.

MARK DAMON MYERS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Gary J. Ferrari, Judge. Reversed. Jonathan E. Demson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Matthew Rodriguez, Acting Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill, Amanda V. Lopez, and Nima Razfar, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________

In 2020, the trial court summarily denied defendant and appellant Mark Damon Myers’s petition under former Penal Code section 1170.951 for resentencing on his murder conviction. In a previous opinion, we affirmed, reasoning that the jury’s finding of a felony-murder special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) made Myers ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law. The Supreme Court subsequently vacated our decision and ordered us to reconsider the case in light of its decision in People v. Strong (2022) 13 Cal.5th 698 (Strong). Both Myers and the Attorney General agree, as do we, that we must reverse the denial of Myers’s petition and remand the case for further proceedings in the trial court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY In 2006, a jury convicted Myers of one count of murder (§ 187, subd. (a)), three counts of robbery (§ 211), one count of preventing a witness from testifying (§ 136.1, subd. (a)(2)), and one count of conspiracy (§ 182, subd. (a)(1)). In addition, the jury found true an allegation of a felony-murder special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)). The trial court sentenced Myers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In a nonpublished opinion, we described the facts of the case: “Defendant, a member of the Eastside Longo criminal street gang, was a longtime acquaintance of murder victim Rudolpho Rodriguez and Rodriguez’s girlfriend, Christina James, both of whom were methamphetamine users. Gregory Clark and Jo’el Bruce, with whom defendant was also acquainted, lived next