P. v. >Martinez>
Filed 3/15/13 P. v. Martinez CA1/4
NOT
TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for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
FIRST
APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION
FOUR
>
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PRIEST ROGELIO MARTINEZ, Defendant and Appellant. | A137183 (Lake County Super. Ct. No. CR914276B) |
Defendant
Priest Rogelio Martinez appeals a judgment entered after he pleaded no contest
to kidnapping and robbery. His counsel
has filed an opening brief raising no issues and asking this court for an href="http://www.fearnotlaw.com/">independent review of the record. (People
v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.)
Defendant has been informed of his right to personally file a
supplemental brief, but he has not done so.
Defendant
and two co-defendants, Anthony Scott
Cape and James Paul Miller, were
charged with kidnapping to commit robbery
(Pen. Code,href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"
title="">[1] § 209, subd. (b)(1))
(count one); kidnapping (§ 207) (count two); robbery (§ 211) (count
three); assault with a deadly weapon by means of force likely to produce great
bodily injury
(§ 245, subd. (a)(1)) (counts four & five); and battery with great
bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)) (count six). As to counts one, two, three, four, and five,
the complaint alleged defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the
victim, Travis Tonne. (§ 12022.7,
subd. (a).) The complaint also alleged
additional enhancement and strike allegations against defendant, including a
prior prison term. (§ 667.5.)
According
to a police report, Tonne and Miller went to a home in Clearlake to meet with
defendant. Tonne had heard defendant was
a “heavy,†and hoped defendant could help him gain possession of a car for
which he had partially paid. Tonne said Cape
hit him and knocked him over while he was in the home. At defendant’s direction, Cape
zip-tied Tonne’s hands and feet. They
then took Tonne to the garage, removed his belongings from the trunk of his
rental car, put him in the trunk of the car, and drove off. Tonne used his cell phone to call 911; when
defendant and Cape realized he was doing so, they
stopped the car, hit him a couple of times, and threatened to stab him. Tonne tried to open the trunk after he heard
sirens; as he did so the trunk lid slammed back onto his head, causing a large
laceration. Tonne heard Miller tell the
driver to roll the car off a cliff.
Tonne opened the trunk, rolled onto the ground, and hid in a ditch. As the car stopped, defendant, Cape,
and Miller ran away. Tonne later said he
had recently sold seven pounds of marijuana for $15,000, and he believed
defendant, Cape, and Miller were trying to rob him of
that money. Tonne also said Cape
was angry because of a dispute between Tonne and Cape’s
girlfriend about their right to some marijuana.
Defendant
originally pleaded not guilty to all counts.
As part of a negotiated disposition, the trial court granted the
prosecutor’s motion to amend the complaint to reduce count three to second
degree robbery. (§§ 211,
212.5.) Defendant signed a plea form,
initialed the boxes indicating he understood his constitutional rights, and
told the court he had read the form and understood his rights. He pleaded no contest to counts two and
three, and admitted the prior prison term allegation, with the understanding
that he would be sentenced to a prison term of seven years.
Before
sentencing, defendant indicated he wished to withdraw his plea. The trial court appointed another counsel to
represent defendant and file any appropriate motions. After reviewing the case, defendant’s new
attorney informed the court she had reviewed the case and found no grounds for
a motion to withdraw the plea.
Consistent
with the plea agreement, the trial court imposed a seven-year prison term,
calculated as the five-year midterm for count two (§§ 207, subd. (a), 208,
subd. (a)), a consecutive one year term for count three (§§ 211, 213,
subd. (a)(2)), and one year for the prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd.
(b)). The court ordered defendant to pay
fines and fees, and awarded 157 days credit.
The remaining charges and allegations were dismissed.
Defendant
was represented by counsel throughout the proceedings. He was advised of his href="http://www.mcmillanlaw.com/">constitutional rights before entering
his plea. We see no error or abuse of
discretion in the trial court’s rulings.
There are no meritorious issues
to be argued.
DISPOSITION
The
judgment is affirmed.
_________________________
RIVERA,
J.
We concur:
_________________________
REARDON, ACTING P. J.
_________________________
HUMES, J.