People v. Sawyer CA2/8

Filed 12/30/22 P. v. Sawyer CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B314534

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA411285-01, 02) v.

TIMOTHY SAWYER et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Renee R. Korn, Judge Reversed with directions.

Richard Lennon and Tanya Dellaca, by appointment of the Court of Appeal for Defendant and Appellant Timothy Sawyer.

Edward H. Schulman, by appointment of the Court of Appeal for Defendant and Appellant Thamicha Sawyer.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle and Chung L. Mar, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Appellants Timothy Sawyer and Thamicha Sawyer (the Sawyers) are husband and wife. In 2014, each was convicted of one count of first degree burglary, with true findings on gang and firearm enhancements. The convictions arose from a plea agreement. The trial court sentenced each to 15 years in state prison. Seven years later in 2021, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office filed petitions for recall and resentencing under former Penal Code1 section 1170, subdivision (d)(1). The petitions sought resentencing that would have resulted in the Sawyers’ immediate release from prison. The petitions raised numerous grounds, including the Sawyers’ positive rehabilitation in prison, mitigating circumstances surrounding their cases, and changed practices for charging gang enhancements. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the proceedings was that three federal prosecutors testified on the Sawyers’ behalf. These attorneys detailed the Sawyers’ significant assistance to the FBI, after their plea agreements, with several federal racketeering investigations—absent any promise of leniency. The resentencing court held multiple hearings on the matter. The court ultimately resentenced the Sawyers to 13 years in prison, a two-year reduction for each. Both the Sawyers appealed, contending the matter should be remanded for reconsideration in light of recent legislation that “drastically” altered the landscape of discretionary resentencing. Specifically, a few months after the trial court ruled, the Legislature renumbered the recall and resentencing provision of former section 1170 and revised it. The new statute originally