People v. Reitzell CA1/3

Filed 7/20/23 P. v. Reitzell CA1/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A163806 v. MARJORIE REITZELL, (San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. SC081182A) Defendant and Appellant.

In 2015, Marjorie Reitzell was convicted of multiple offenses while driving intoxicated, including two murders. (Pen. Code § 187, subd. (a); statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated.) The trial court imposed an aggregate sentence of 30 years to life. In October 2021, the court held a hearing to reconsider Reitzell’s sentence due to a discrepancy in the abstract of judgment. At that hearing, the court ordered that sentence enhancements for causing bodily injury or death to multiple victims would be stayed instead of running concurrently, and otherwise reaffirmed its original sentencing decision. In this appeal from the resentencing order, Reitzell seeks a remand for the court to reconsider her sentence in light of an ameliorative amendment to section 654 that went into effect in 2022. Although Reitzell is entitled to the benefit of that amendment, the record shows unequivocally that the court

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would not exercise its new discretion to reduce Reitzell’s sentence. Accordingly, we affirm the October 2021 resentencing order. BACKGROUND I. The 2013 Incident In October 2013, Reitzell was arrested at the scene of a traffic collision in Menlo Park. Responding officers found two pedestrians lying dead in the road, and a group of teenagers who reported that Reitzell’s car jumped over a center median and hit their car. Reitzell was found in her car, where it had struck a tree. She had a bottle of brandy in a paper bag, appeared to be intoxicated, and admitted that she hit another car. Reitzell was transported to a hospital where her blood alcohol level was determined to be 0.23 percent. Investigators determined that a few hours prior to the Menlo Park collision, Reitzell had collided with another vehicle when the driver slowed for a traffic light. A friend of Reitzell’s also reported seeing her drink half a bottle of wine earlier that day. When interviewed by police, Reitzell stated that prior to the collision in Menlo Park, she had been involved in a minor collision in the parking lot of a store where she purchased alcohol. She continued to drive, and drank a bottle of brandy while driving home, then decided to pull over because of poor vision and because she needed to use the bathroom. Reitzell recalled seeing bright lights before hitting a tree. She claimed not to remember hitting pedestrians or another car. II. Reitzell’s Convictions and Original Sentence In 2014, Reitzell was charged with the following offenses: two counts of murder, with enhancements for intentional and personal infliction of great bodily injury (§§ 187, subd. (a) & 1203.075, subd. (a)(1)); two counts of vehicular manslaughter while driving intoxicated, with enhancements for causing great bodily injury (§§ 191.5, subd. (a) & 1192.7, subd. (c)(8); Veh.