People v. Monroy CA2/6

Filed 2/22/24 P. v. Monroy CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B325666 (Super. Ct. No. PA085567) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County)

v.

JOSEPH WAYNE MONROY,

Defendant and Appellant.

Joseph Wayne Monroy was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (a))1 He appeals an order denying his section 1172.6 petition for resentencing. The order was made at the prima facie stage of the proceedings. We affirm. The record of conviction shows that appellant is ineligible for section 1172.6 relief because he was the actual killer. Furthermore, at the prima facie hearing appellant’s counsel conceded that the petition was without merit.

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

Appellant’s Plea and Sentence Appellant was charged with murder. (§ 187, subd. (a).) Pursuant to a plea bargain, in January 2018 he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and admitted a firearm-use enhancement (§ 12022.5). He was sentenced to prison for an aggregate term of 21 years: the upper term of 11 years for voluntary manslaughter plus the upper term of 10 years for the firearm-use enhancement. Relevant Facts Based on Transcript of Preliminary Hearing At the preliminary hearing the following testimony was presented: Wilmar Gonzalez (Wilmar) testified that appellant had shot Wilmar’s brother, Rudy Gonzalez (Rudy), during an argument between appellant and both brothers. Appellant “just started shooting.” Wilmar turned around and ran away. After the shooting Wilmar heard appellant do “some wicked laugh” and say, “‘ha, ha, ha, ha. That’s what you get.’” A police officer testified that Wilmar said he heard two shots. After the second shot, Wilmar said he heard appellant say, “‘My shit jammed.’” Juan Gonzalez (Juan), a bystander, testified that he had seen two persons (Wilmar and Rudy) confront appellant. The two persons ran away. Appellant fired a gun at one of the persons. He “heard two shots.” Margarito Posadas was with Juan Gonzalez. Posadas also testified at the preliminary hearing. Posadas told a police officer that he had seen appellant remove a handgun from his pants pocket. Appellant “chased the victim . . . into [a] walkway.” At that point, Posadas heard the second of two gunshots.