People v. Arredondo CA4/2, E084807

Mary Lorene Arredondo was convicted by a jury of first degree murder and found to have personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death, in connection with the shooting death of Adam Loza at a Hemet, California trailer park in October 2023.
The incident arose out of a volatile relationship triangle involving Arredondo, Loza, and Joseph Schlone, with evidence of previous arguments and animosity between Arredondo and Loza.
Surveillance footage and eyewitnesses indicated Arredondo had argued with Loza, chased him, and fired shots, resulting in Loza's fatal injuries. Loza was later found dead in the trailer park laundry room with gunshot wounds.
Arredondo denied involvement, claimed an alibi, and gunshot residue was not found on her hands; however, the physical and video evidence implicated her, and her alibi was contradicted.
The trial court imposed a sentence of 50 years to life (25 years to life for murder and a consecutive 25 years to life for the firearm enhancement) and various fines, with some fees waived due to inability to pay.
On appeal, Arredondo's counsel filed a People v. Wende brief, asking for independent appellate review as no meritorious appellate issues were identified.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for premeditation/deliberation	Evidence supports first degree murder	No premeditation, possibly heat of passion	Judgment affirmed
Admissibility of officer's narration of surveillance video	Proper and relevant testimony	Officer improperly opined defendant's intent	No reversible error
Necessity of voluntary manslaughter (heat of passion) instruction	Not warranted by evidence	Angry argument justifies instruction	No instructional error
Independent review under Wende/Anders	No meritorious issues identified	Independent review requested	No arguable error, affirmed

People v. Wende, 25 Cal.3d 436 (Cal. 1979) (sets forth the procedure for appellate review when counsel finds no meritorious issues)
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (requires counsel to request an independent review when no issues can be found)
People v. Kelly, 40 Cal.4th 106 (Cal. 2006) (outlines procedures for filing supplemental briefs and appellate review under Wende)
People v. Feggans, 67 Cal.2d 444 (Cal. 1967) (appellate review when issues raised may benefit defendant)
People v. Johnson, 123 Cal.App.3d 106 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981) (summary of appellate review duty in Wende cases)