People v. Pickard CA2/4

Filed 12/22/23 P. v. Pickard CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B324268

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. LA009272 v.

STEVEN RAY PICKARD,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Gregory A. Dohi, Judge. Affirmed. John A. Colucci, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1992, the Los Angeles County District Attorney filed an amended information charging defendant and appellant Steven Ray Pickard with various offenses, including murder. (Pen Code,1 § 187, subd. (a).) The amended information alleged the special circumstance that Pickard committed the murder while fleeing from having committed burglary. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17).) The jury convicted Pickard of evading a peace officer in a manner proximately causing serious bodily injury (Veh. Code, § 2800.3) and second degree commercial burglary (§ 459), but could not reach a verdict on the murder count and special circumstance allegation. The trial court declared a mistrial. Upon retrial, a jury convicted Pickard of first degree murder and found the special circumstance allegation true. The court sentenced Pickard to life without the possibility of parole. In 2021, Pickard filed a petition for resentencing under former section 1170.95.2 The trial court appointed counsel on Pickard’s behalf. The prosecution filed a response to Pickard’s petition, and Pickard’s counsel filed a responsive brief arguing Pickard had made a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief.

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered section 1170.95 to section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) There were no substantive changes to the statute. For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to the statute by its new code section. That section provides relief for certain individuals convicted of murder under the felony murder rule, natural and probable consequence doctrine, or any other theory of imputed-malice liability. (See § 1172.6.)