P. v. Bowers CA2/3
In 1997, defendant David Denetrix Bowers entered a bank and tried to cash a fraudulent check. He was charged with and convicted of check forgery and possession of a check with intent to defraud, and sentenced to a third-strike term of 25 years to life. After the electorate passed the Three Strikes Reform Act in 2012 (Proposition 36), defendant petitioned for recall of sentence and resentencing. The prosecutor opposed the petition, arguing that defendant was ineligible for relief based on a 1990 kidnapping conviction that qualified as a sexually violent felony under Proposition 36. The trial court agreed and found defendant ineligible by a preponderance of the evidence. Because the prosecution was required to prove defendant’s ineligibility beyond a reasonable doubt, we reverse.
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