People v. Knecht CA3

Filed 6/8/23 P. v. Knecht CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Glenn) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C096039

v. (Super. Ct. No. 18NCR12843)

GABRIEL ANDREW KNECHT,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2018, defendant Gabriel Andrew Knecht pleaded guilty to first degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison. In 2021, defendant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code section 1172.6. 1 The trial court denied the petition based on the transcript of defendant’s plea hearing, which included a factual basis stipulated to by defense counsel that defendant shot and killed the victim, and also included defendant’s guilty plea to murder with malice

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Defendant filed his resentencing petition under former section 1170.95. Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered former section 1170.95 to section 1172.6, with no change in the text. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.)

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aforethought committed willfully, deliberately and with premeditation. The trial court concluded defendant is not eligible for resentencing as a matter of law. Defendant now contends his plea did not establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty of murder under the newly revised statutes. Finding no error, we will affirm the trial court’s order. BACKGROUND On July 26, 2018, defendant entered his plea to first degree murder with the understanding that other counts and special allegations would be dismissed and defendant would serve 25 years to life in prison. Before accepting the plea, the trial court asked the prosecutor to articulate the factual basis. The prosecutor said that on March 16, 2018, defendant and two others went to the home of the victim, and while there, defendant, in a willful, deliberate, and premeditated manner, shot and killed the victim. Defense counsel stipulated to the articulated factual basis for the plea. Thereafter, defendant pleaded guilty to the charge that he “did unlawfully and with malice aforethought, murder a human being, to wit, [the victim], and did aid and abet in the same, a violation of [s]ection 187[, subdivision ](a) of the Penal Code, murder in the first degree, a felony[.]” Defendant further admitted that “this murder was committed willfully, deliberately, and with [premeditation] and is a serious felony within the meaning of Penal Code [s]ection 1192.7[, subdivision ](c).” The trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life in prison. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court said: “The Court had an opportunity to review the Probation Department’s [report] -- concerning this case. This case was basically a planned home invasion robbery that defendants -- or defendant was armed and discharged the weapon killing the victim in this case. To say -- I can’t find any excuse. It was an act of ripping off somebody for marijuana. Taking somebody’s life for a number of pounds of marijuana. There’s nothing that can be said for that. It’s -- it’s a hardened, thoughtless -- and it had been planned. It had been planned.”