People v. Sneed CA2/5

Filed 12/1/23 P. v. Sneed CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B324270

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA137551) v.

VERSHONDA SNEED,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Patrick Connolly, Judge. Affirmed. Richard B. Lennon and David Andreasen, under appointments by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Charles S. Lee and Michael C. Keller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

A jury convicted defendant and appellant Vershonda Sneed (defendant) of first degree murder for fatally shooting Bobby King (King). After intervening changes in California law defining murder, defendant petitioned for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6 (former Penal Code section 1170.95).1 Without permitting the parties to file the briefs contemplated by section 1172.6, subdivision (c), the trial court summarily denied defendant’s petition because she was King’s actual killer. We are asked to decide whether this was prejudicial error.

I. BACKGROUND A. The Offense Conduct King and defendant started out as close friends, but their relationship deteriorated over time and defendant came to believe that King was arrogant and selfish. In May of 2015, defendant blocked King on her cell phone after he threatened to kill her when the two were arguing. The following month, defendant met with her friends Shawnta Sawyers (Sawyers) and Tyshonda Marie Powell (Powell) at the home of Sawyers’ sister. Sawyers, who had dated King, was on the phone with King when defendant arrived; she told King defendant was there. Later, while the women were outside the home talking in the driveway, King arrived. When King approached the women, defendant pointed a gun at him and shot