A state appeals court panel Monday rejected a bid for re-sentencing by a man who pleaded no contest to murder for an attack on a 75-year-old South Los Angeles resident who was left bedridden until he died about 4 1/2 years later.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with a Superior Court judge who ruled that Harry Leon Neely Jr. is ineligible for re-sentencing under a recent change enacted in state law.
Neely, now 49, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder as jury selection was underway in his trial in connection with the Aug. 13, 2005, attack on Harvey Sumpter.
The victim was found bound and gagged, with serious injuries, and remained bedridden until he died at age 80 on Feb. 19, 2010, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide, citing complications from a “persistent vegetative state” and head trauma.
Neely — who entered the victim’s house through a window — was identified as the assailant several years later as a result of DNA evidence and was arrested in March 2016 in Memphis, Tennessee.
In its three-page ruling, the appellate court panel rejected the defendant’s contention that his no contest plea was not entered freely, voluntarily or without an understanding of its consequences. The justices noted that the trial court had explained the rights that Neely was giving up by pleading no contest and found that he was making his plea freely and voluntarily.
The defendant also contended that there was insufficient evidence that he possessed the requisite mental state for murder, with the justices finding that a no contest plea admits all elements of a crime.
The panel added that Neely had waived his appellate rights, and “thus cannot now challenge the evidentiary support for his conviction.”