People v. Dixon CA3

Filed 3/13/24 P. v. Dixon CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C098919

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 57383)

v.

DANIEL STEVE DIXON,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Daniel Steve Dixon appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 Counsel filed a brief raising no arguable issues under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende) and People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216 (Delgadillo). Counsel requested we exercise our discretion to

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered former section 1170.95 to section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) There were no substantive changes to the statute. Defendant filed his petition under former section 1170.95, but we will cite to section 1172.6 throughout this opinion.

1

review the entire record for arguable issues on appeal. Defendant has filed a supplemental brief. We will affirm. I. BACKGROUND In 1981, a jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder. (§ 187.) The jury found true a special circumstance that defendant personally committed willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder during a robbery. The jury thereafter found true a second special circumstance that defendant had committed multiple murders. The jury also found defendant guilty of robbery (§ 211), illegal possession of a firearm, and receiving stolen property (§ 496). Lastly, the jury further found that defendant had personally used a firearm in committing the robbery. (§ 12022.5.) The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole. This court affirmed the judgment. (People v. Dixon (Oct. 18, 1982, 3 Crim. 11616) [nonpub. opn.].) In May 2021, defendant filed a section 1172.6 petition for resentencing on a 1969 felony murder conviction. The trial court appointed counsel to represent defendant. The People filed a response that did not address defendant’s 1969 murder conviction, but rather argued that defendant was ineligible for section 1172.6 relief because the jury found that defendant was the actual killer in the 1981 murder and that he committed the murder willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation. On June 13, 2022, the trial court vacated defendant’s 1969 murder conviction and sentenced defendant to six years with time served for first degree robbery. In August 2022, defendant filed a motion in propria persona to supplement his section 1172.6 petition, contending that, based on the trial court’s vacating the 1969 murder conviction, he should be released or his sentence reduced. On November 14, 2022, defense counsel filed a reply to the People’s response, arguing that defendant had made a prima facie case of eligibility for section 1172.6 relief as to his 1981 murder conviction.