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People v. Odu

California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Second Division
Jun 25, 2024
No. E081890 (Cal. Ct. App. Jun. 25, 2024)

Opinion

E081890

06-25-2024

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. FRANK TEVIN ODU, Defendant and Appellant.

Jared G. Coleman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.


NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. No. INF1500754 John D. Molloy, Judge. Appeal dismissed.

Jared G. Coleman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

RAMIREZ P. J.

Defendant and appellant Frank Tevin Odu appeals the order of the Riverside County Superior Court denying his petition for resentencing made pursuant to Penal Code section 1172.6.

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

BACKGROUND

Defendant and another man, Prince E., burglarized a home in Cabazon, and then went on to burglarize another in Palm Springs. Witnesses to the Cabazon burglary reported seeing defendant and Prince E. carrying items out of the house and provided descriptions of the two men and their car. When deputies responded to a call about the burglary in progress in Palm Springs, they saw the car and signaled defendant to pull over. Defendant stopped but did not turn off the engine, and then drove off. The deputies did not pursue him.

A short while later, the deputies responded to a report of a car crash. They found defendant's car engulfed in flames. According to witnesses, defendant had run a red light and hit another car. Prince E., a passenger in defendant's car, was killed in the crash.

In 2017, a jury convicted defendant of three felonies: vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence (§ 192, subd. (c)(1)), residential burglary (§ 459), and reckless driving causing injury (Veh. Code § 23105). It found him not guilty of the charge alleging he murdered Prince E. The court sentenced him to a determinate term of 14 years, to be followed by an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life.

In December 2022, defendant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6. The court appointed counsel for him and set a status conference hearing.

At the hearing, the court considered defendant's argument that section 1172.6 applies to all manslaughter convictions, including vehicular manslaughter. It reviewed section 192, subdivision (c)(1) and the vehicular manslaughter jury instruction given (CALCRIM No. 592), and concluded defendant could not have been convicted of that crime unless the jury found he was the actual killer, and dismissed defendant's petition. Defendant timely noticed this appeal.

DISCUSSION

Defendant's appointed appellate counsel filed an opening brief that sets forth statements of the case and facts but does not present any issues for adjudication. Counsel asked this court to independently review the record on appeal, citing People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 and People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216 (Delgadillo).

Upon receipt of the opening brief, we advised defendant and counsel that, because the appeal is from the denial of a postconviction proceeding, this court is not required to conduct an independent review of the record and cited Delgadillo, supra, 14 Cal.5th 216. We invited defendant to file any supplemental brief deemed necessary and advised him that failure to do so might result in dismissal of the appeal as abandoned. Defendant did not file a brief.

Neither defendant nor his counsel have presented an issue and upon our review of the record, we do not find any error. Accordingly, we dismiss defendant's appeal.

DISPOSITION

The appeal is dismissed.

We concur: FIELDS J. MENETREZ J.


Summaries of

People v. Odu

California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Second Division
Jun 25, 2024
No. E081890 (Cal. Ct. App. Jun. 25, 2024)
Case details for

People v. Odu

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. FRANK TEVIN ODU, Defendant and…

Court:California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Second Division

Date published: Jun 25, 2024

Citations

No. E081890 (Cal. Ct. App. Jun. 25, 2024)