On Wednesday, a state appeals court panel denied the request for re-sentencing made by a former Canoga Park resident, who had been found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, who had testified against him.
The defense’s plea to overturn the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge’s decision, which stated that Mark Bowersock did not qualify for re-sentencing under a new state law that applies to certain murder cases, was denied by a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal.
Laurie Ann Prejean, aged 36, was fatally shot on February 3, 1995, at her sister’s home in Saugus. Bowersock is currently serving a life sentence in prison with no chance of parole for this crime.
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According to the 12-page ruling of the appellate court panel, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree residential burglary in June 1996. The jurors confirmed the special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed in response to Prejean’s testimony in a criminal proceeding against him.
According to the appellate court panel, Bowersock’s conviction was based on the valid theory of murder where he was directly responsible for the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of Laurie Ann Prejean. The judge had already determined that Bowersock was ineligible for any form of relief.
In his appeal, Bowersock argued that the judge made a mistake by denying his plea to replace his appointed attorney for his re-sentencing request. However, the appellate court justices concluded that the lower court’s decision to reject the request was reasonable and did not constitute an abuse of discretion.
