Filed 8/3/26 P. v. Dunn CA1/3
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
THE PEOPLE, A173077
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v. (Contra Costa County
KEYLEN MALIK DUNN, Super. Ct. No. 05001716232)
Defendant and Appellant.
Keylen Malik Dunn appeals from the trial court’s denial of his petition
for resentencing under Penal Code1 section 1172.6. His appointed counsel
filed a brief raising no issues on appeal and requesting that we exercise our
discretion to conduct an independent review of the record under People v.
Delgadillo (2023) 14 Cal.5th 216 (Delgadillo). Defendant himself filed a
supplemental brief, which raises no arguable issue. As such, we affirm the
denial of resentencing.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The facts of the underlying offenses are set forth more fully in our
unpublished opinion in defendant’s prior appeal. (See People v. Dunn (Mar.
15, 2021, A155981) [nonpub. opn.] (Dunn).)
1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.
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Briefly, the People charged defendant with the murder of Eaen Hale
(§ 187, subd. (a)) and further alleged he personally used a knife in the
commission of the offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). The People also charged
defendant with a second degree robbery (§ 211) that occurred in February
2016. The trial court consolidated the charges for trial. The evidence at trial
on the murder charge included the following.
Around 6:45 p.m. on July 8, 2016, Bryan Abernathy was sitting in his
truck when, from his rearview mirror, he saw defendant chasing Hale.
Abernathy was friends with both men and knew defendant and Hale hung
out together. Abernathy watched defendant get within five feet of Hale
before defendant returned to the park. Several minutes later, defendant
chased Hale across the street before they went down to the ground,
disappearing from Abernathy’s view. A minute or two later, defendant
“ ‘popped up’ ” and ran in front of Abernathy’s truck holding what appeared to
be a bloody knife. When Abernathy exited the truck, he found Hale on his
stomach in a pool of blood. Hale died on the scene.
Shortly before his death, Hale called 911 and reported that defendant
had popped his tires with a knife, hit him in the mouth, and would have
stabbed him had he not run away.2 Hale said he had to get away because
defendant would be returning with “ ‘a long ass knife.’ ” During the call, Hale
repeatedly yelled things like “ ‘I don’t know what to do’ ” and “ ‘Oh no.’ ” The
autopsy report indicated Hale died from a single stab wound to the chest. A
fresh abrasion was on defendant’s left middle finger knuckle after his arrest.
Defendant took the stand and testified about his history of mental
health issues, medications for his psychiatric conditions, and his
2 A police officer at the scene observed the victim’s left front tire had
been slashed.
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hospitalization in the psychiatric ward as a teenager. Defendant had been
homeless since 2014 and admitted himself to a psychiatric ward a few weeks
before Hale’s death. Though he obtained medications during that
hospitalization, he ran out at least a week before Hale’s death. Defendant
and Hale had been friends since he was a teenager, and he denied wanting
Hale dead. He claimed that on the day that Hale died, he had lent Hale his
lighter to smoke methamphetamine and Hale had burnt defendant’s hand
while offering defendant his pipe. They got into an altercation during which
Hale became angry and pulled out a knife. Hale subsequently ran away, but
then tripped and fell on his own knife as defendant was chasing him.
Defendant did not call for help or try to help Hale but, instead, retrieved the
shopping cart that contained his belongings and left the area. Defendant
denied knowing why three knives were found in his shopping cart and
claimed he never carried knives.
Other evidence was presented regarding defendant’s mental state. One
witness described defendant’s erratic behavior in the six weeks preceding
Hale’s death, and a jail psychiatrist testified that defendant had
schizophrenia and was treated for psychosis in September 2016.
As relevant here, the trial court instructed the jury on the charges of
second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. The jury found
defendant guilty of second degree murder and the February 2016 robbery.
The trial court sentenced him to 15 years to life for the murder and imposed a
two-year consecutive term for the robbery.3 Defendant appealed from the
judgment, and we affirmed. (Dunn, supra, A155981.)
3 The jury also found the knife use enhancement true, and the court
imposed but struck the sentence for this enhancement.
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In December 2024, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under the
predecessor statute to section 1172.6. On the petition form, defendant
checked the boxes indicating that a complaint, information, or indictment
was filed against him that allowed the prosecution to proceed under a theory
of felony murder, murder under the natural and probable consequences
doctrine or other theory under which malice is imputed to a person based
solely on that person’s participation in a crime, or attempted murder under
the natural and probable consequences doctrine (former § 1170.95,
subd. (a)(1), now § 1172.6, subd. (a)(1)); that he had been convicted of murder,
attempted murder, or manslaughter following a trial; and that he could not
be convicted for murder or attempted murder because of changes made to
§§ 188 and 189, effective January 1, 2019 (former §1170.95, subd. (a)(3), now
§ 1172.6, subd. (a)(3)).
The same judge who presided over defendant’s trial held a hearing on
his resentencing petition on March 28, 2025. At the hearing, defense counsel
indicated she did not want to take a position adverse to defendant but
indicated she could not ascertain any legal issues to raise on his behalf. As
such, she requested that the court treat defendant’s filing as a petition under
section 1172.1, which allows a court under certain circumstances to
resentence a defendant on its own motion, if the court did not find that
defendant established a prima facie case under section 1172.6. Defense
counsel attempted to make a record of what defendant’s positions were on the
section 1172.6 petition, but defendant asked and was permitted to speak at
that point.
After hearing from defendant, the trial court ruled he did not qualify
for relief under section 1172.6 because he was not tried under any of the
theories of murder that had been invalidated by that statute. Citing
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defendant’s testimony that only he and Hale were present at the crime scene,
as well as defendant’s claim that Hale accidentally fell on his own knife, the
court concluded he was not entitled to relief. It also declined to entertain
defense counsel’s request to treat the section 1172.6 petition as a petition
under section 1172.1.
After defendant asked and was permitted to speak again, the trial court
maintained its ruling and denied defendant’s petition for resentencing under
section 1172.6. Defendant appeals.
DISCUSSION
When, as here, appointed counsel finds no arguable issues in an appeal
from a denial of postconviction relief, the defendant is not entitled to
independent review of the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25
Cal.3d 436 or Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738. (Delgadillo, supra, 14
Cal.5th at pp. 226, 231–232.) If, however, the defendant files a supplemental
brief or letter, the reviewing court must “evaluate the specific arguments
presented in that brief” and “issue a written opinion.” (Id. at p. 232.)
Defendant submitted a one-page handwritten letter in which he first
asserts he was not “suppose[d] to be seen by [his] trial court or attorney
which grants automatic release by law.” He does not further elaborate, and
we cannot discern the basis for his challenge. As such, this assertion fails to
establish an entitlement to relief.
Defendant’s only other assertion is that the trial court did not use
“proper law language” and failed to explicitly state it was denying his petition
for resentencing relief under section 1172.6. This argument finds no support
in the record. The trial court clearly announced at the beginning of the
March 28, 2025 hearing that it was considering defendant’s petition for
resentencing under section 1172.6. The court thereafter explained it was
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“going to deny [defendant’s] request” because the jury in defendant’s trial was
not instructed on any theories of liability invalidated by section 1172.6.
Finally, to the extent defendant argues the court was required to use
specific words in order for its ruling to be effective, the contention is without
merit. Courts have regularly denied claims of error based on a trial court’s
failure to recite particular magic words, so long as the court’s intentions and
the bases of its rulings are clear. (See People v. Rodriguez (1984) 152
Cal.App.3d 289, 299; see also People v. Hampton (2022) 74 Cal.App.5th 1092,
1104; People v. Garrett (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 795, 801.) Here, the record
discloses the court was clear in denying defendant’s resentencing petition and
in expressing the basis for that ruling.
DISPOSITION
The trial court’s order denying defendant’s petition for resentencing under
section 1172.6 is affirmed.
_________________________
Fujisaki, Acting P. J.
WE CONCUR:
_________________________
Petrou, J.
_________________________
Rodríguez, J.
People v. Dunn (A173077)
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