P. v. Demara





















Filed 10/22/10 P. v. Demara CA4/2











NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS





California
Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or
relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except
as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This
opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for
purposes of rule 8.1115.







IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF >CALIFORNIA >



FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT



DIVISION TWO






>

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. EFRAIN GARCIA DEMARA, Defendant and Appellant.

E050456 (Super.Ct.No. SWF028246) OPINION

APPEAL
from the Superior Court
of Riverside
County. Mark Mandio,
Judge. Affirmed.

Alan
S. Yockelson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.

Edmund
G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney
General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Rhonda
Cartwright-Ladendorf and Scott C. Taylor, Deputy Attorneys General, for
Plaintiff and Respondent.

Based on an
indicated sentence of 25 years to life, defendant and appellant Efrain Garcia
Demara pled guilty to possessing a firearm
after being convicted of a violent crime (Pen. Code, § 12021.1, subd. (a))^[1] and possessing methamphetamine while armed
with a loaded, operable firearm (Health & Saf. Code, § 11370.1).

Defendant admitted
a 2000 conviction for robbery (§ 211)
and a 1998 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd.
(a)(1)). Each admitted conviction
constituted a strike (§ 667, subds. (c) & (e)(2)(A)) and a prison prior
enhancement (§ 667.5, subd. (b)).
Prior to sentencing, defendant filed a Romero^[2] motion requesting the trial court dismiss one
or both strike priors. Defendant
contends the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to strike at least
the strike from 1998. We affirm.

>BACKGROUND

Defendant has been
incarcerated most of his life since turning 15.
He was most recently released from prison in November 2008. After his release, he would usually use
methamphetamine to get up in the morning and use heroin, alcohol, and marijuana
later in the day. On March 20, 2009, defendant's vehicle
was stopped by sheriff's deputies. He
admitted being on parole and informed the deputies of a handgun tucked into his
pants. The handgun had six rounds in its
magazine and a round in the chamber.
Defendant was carrying .50 grams of methamphetamine and a syringe in his
pants pockets.

Defendant pled
guilty on November 13, 2009;
the trial court informed him that â€