People v. Vaughn CA5

Filed 6/28/23 P. v. Vaughn CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F084104 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F08908036) v.

LEBARON VAUGHN, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Gregory T. Fain, Judge. Catherine White, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Darren K. Indermill and Kari Ricci Mueller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Hill, P. J., Levy, J. and Meehan, J.

INTRODUCTION LeBaron Vaughn (appellant) pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. Ten years later, he filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1172.6.2 The trial court denied the petition, concluding appellant failed to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief because the record of conviction established he was the actual killer. On appeal, we reject appellant’s contention that the record of conviction did not establish he was ineligible for relief as a matter of law. We affirm. BACKGROUND I. Charges and Conviction The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office filed an information charging appellant with murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1), alleging he committed the murder “unlawfully, and with malice aforethought.” Appellant was also charged with inflicting physical punishment on a child (§ 273d, subd. (a); counts 2 and 3). The victim was the approximately 10-year-old son of his girlfriend, Rena Antonettee Ireland. Ireland was also charged in the information with two counts of child abuse (§ 273a, subd. (a); counts 4 and 5). Ireland was not charged with murder. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, appellant pleaded guilty to second degree murder. The remaining counts of inflicting physical punishment on a child were dismissed. Appellant stipulated the preliminary hearing transcript provided the factual basis for his plea.

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Appellant brought the petition pursuant to former section 1170.95, which was renumbered as section 1172.6 without substantive change on June 30, 2022. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10, eff. June 30, 2022.) For clarity, we refer to the statute by its current number throughout this opinion.