P. v. Sullivan
Defendant and appellant Corey Sullivan entered into a case settlement agreement with the prosecution in which he (1) plead no contest to two counts of second degree robbery (Pen. Code, § 211);[1] (2) admitted suffering a serious or violent felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)), and a conviction under the three strikes law (§§ 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d), 667, subds. (b)-(i)); (3) admitted that one of the robberies was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(C)); and (4) admitted that a principal in one of the robberies was armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)). Pursuant to the settlement agreement, nine additional felony counts were dismissed and defendant was sentenced to 28 years in state prison.
Defendant filed a notice of appeal. The notice indicated the appeal is based on the sentence or other matters occurring after the appeal, and the appeal challenges the validity of the plea or admission. Defendant’s request for a certificate of probable cause was denied by the trial court.
This court appointed counsel to represent defendant on appeal. On December 11, 2013, appointed counsel filed a brief raising no issues, asking this court to independently review the record for arguable appellate contentions under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. Defendant was advised of his right to file a supplemental brief within 30 days. Defendant’s request for an extension of time to file his supplemental brief was granted.
On January 14, 2014, defendant filed a supplemental brief raising multiple issues, including improper denial of his motion for severance, insufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction as an aider and abettor, erroneous failure to dismiss the gang enhancement allegation, ineffective assistance of trial counsel due to a failure to advise defendant regarding potentially meritorious grounds for appeal and urging defendant to accept the case settlement rather than risk 94 years in prison if convicted at trial, and his guilty plea was involuntary.
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