P. v. Renteria
A jury trial ended in a mistrial when the jury reached an impasse on lesser included offenses to a charge that defendant committed the first degree murder of Abelardo Chvez. Defendants case was tried anew, this time to the court on the basis of the transcripts of the prior trial and a new round of closing arguments. The court convicted defendant of the second degree murder (Pen. Code, 187)[1]of Chvez and the attempted murder ( 187, 664) of Herman Cuevas. It found true enhancements based on defendants inflicting great bodily injury by firing a gun. ( 12022.5, subd. (a), 12022.53, subds. (b)-(d).) It sentenced defendant to a determinate term of seven years in prison followed by an indeterminate term of imprisonment for 65 years to life.On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion in declaring a mistrial in the prior proceeding and therefore his second trial occurred in violation of the constitutional guaranties against being placed twice in jeopardy for the same offense, that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of second degree murder and attempted murder and to impose a gun use enhancement for the attempted murder, and that the enhancements should have been stricken. Court affirm the judgment.
Comments on P. v. Renteria