People v. Santos CA4/3

Filed 4/19/23 P. v. Santos 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, G061708

v. (Super. Ct. No. 02CF2639)

EDUARDO FLORES SANTOS, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Lance Jensen, Judge. Affirmed. Robert E. Boyce, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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The trial court denied defendant Eduardo Flores Santos’ Penal Code section 1 1170.95 petition (now Pen. Code, § 1172.6). The court denied the petition because the jury was not instructed on the felony-murder rule and/or the natural and probable consequences theory: “Based on the jury instructions, petitioner was convicted as the actual killer and would still be guilty of murder under current law.” Santos filed a notice of appeal. Appointed appellate counsel filed an opening brief raising no arguable issues. (See People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) Santos did not file a supplemental brief on his own behalf. In the interests of justice, this court has reviewed the record and found no arguable issues. (See People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216, 230 [“if the appellate court wishes, it may also exercise its discretion to conduct its own independent review of the record in the interest of justice”].) Thus, we affirm the order of the trial court.

I PROCEDURAL HISTORY In 2003, a jury convicted Santos of murder and found true an allegation he personally used a knife in the commission of the crime. The court sentenced Santos to a prison term of 15 years to life. This court affirmed the judgment on appeal. (People v. Santos (Aug. 18, 2020, G057886) [nonpub. opn.].) In 2022, Santos filed a postjudgment petition seeking to vacate his murder conviction and to be resentenced. (§ 1172.6.) The prosecution filed a response, which included a copy of the information, the jury instructions used in the 2003 trial, a copy of the verdict forms, and the underlying unpublished opinion. In August 2022, the trial court conducted a prima facie hearing and denied