People v. Solis CA3

Filed 5/16/23 P. v. Solis CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C096691

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 04F07362)

v.

ALLAN SOLIS,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2006, defendant Allan Solis was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life plus one year. In June 2022, the trial court denied defendant’s second petition to vacate his sentence under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred (1) in concluding this court’s opinions barred the present petition and (2) by summarily denying the petition without giving the parties an

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

opportunity to be heard. The People agree that the trial court erred but argue that these errors were harmless given the evidence presented at trial establishing that defendant was the actual killer — including defendant’s testimony admitting that he killed the victim — and therefore not eligible for relief under section 1172.6. We agree and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Given the nature of the present appeal, a summary recitation of the underlying facts will suffice. On August 12, 2004, Ruby P. came to defendant’s apartment, and they got into an argument that turned physical. Defendant claimed that Ruby P. grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and they wrestled for it, each attempting to stab the other. They tripped on an air mattress and defendant stabbed Ruby P. in the neck, killing her. After a bench trial, the trial court found defendant guilty of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)). The court also found true that defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). Defendant was sentenced to 25 years to life with an additional consecutive year for the personal use enhancement. We affirmed in People v. Solis (Dec. 14, 2007, C053493) [nonpub. opn.]. On January 22, 2019, defendant filed a petition under former section 1170.95.2 On February 25, 2019, the trial court denied the petition. We affirmed in People v. Solis (Jan. 16, 2020, C089326) [nonpub. opn.]. On June 1, 2022, defendant filed a second petition under section 1172.6. He argued that an information had been filed against him that allowed the prosecution to proceed under a theory of felony murder or a natural and probable consequences theory, that he was convicted of murder, and that he could not now be convicted of murder based