People v. Wilson CA5

California Court of Appeal·Decided July 12, 2023·No. F084975·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 7/12/23 P. v. Wilson CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F084975 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MCR072703) v.

KEVIN LAMONT WILSON, JR., OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Madera County. James Oakley, Judge. (Retired Judge of the Madera Super. Ct. assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to art. VI, § 6 of the Cal. Const.) Matthew J. Smith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Poochigian, Acting P. J., Franson, J. and Snauffer, J. Defendant Kevin Lamont Wilson, Jr., was found guilty by a jury of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 11 years. Appointed counsel for defendant asked this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Defendant was advised of his right to file a letter stating any grounds on appeal within 30 days of the date of filing of the opening brief. Defendant filed a letter identifying the following purported errors:1 first, an error in jury selection caused by a potential juror expressing a belief in defendant’s guilt; second, juror error caused by a juror not disclosing her relationship with law enforcement, the district attorney’s office, and the judiciary; third, an error regarding the trial court’s failure to release defendant from a warrant hold on an unrelated case; and fourth, error by the trial court in admitting evidence “after trial had already been started ….” He has identified no basis for relief, nor have we. We affirm. PROCEDURAL SUMMARY On May 3, 2022, the Madera County District Attorney filed a second amended information charging defendant with assault with a semiautomatic firearm (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (b); count 1),2 assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2); count 2), unlawful possession of a firearm (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1); count 3), and unlawful possession of ammunition (§ 30305, subd. (a)(1); count 4). As to counts 1 and 2, the second amended information further alleged that defendant personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) and had suffered a prior “strike” conviction within the meaning of the “Three Strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)). As to counts 1

1 Defendant also requests that we relieve his appointed counsel and appoint new counsel based on appointed counsel’s failure to raise the issues that defendant identified to him. Because we find no merit in defendant’s arguments, as discussed below, we deny defendant’s request. 2 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2. through 4, the second amended information alleged that defendant’s prior conviction also qualified as a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)). The second amended information further alleged five aggravating circumstances (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.421). On May 26, 2022, the trial court dismissed count 2 on the People’s motion. On the same date, defendant admitted that he suffered a prior conviction that made it unlawful for him to possess a firearm and ammunition. On June 14, 2022, the jury found defendant guilty on counts 1, 3, and 4, and found true the personal use of a firearm allegation on count 1. In a bifurcated proceeding, the jury also found true the three aggravating circumstances presented to it and found true that defendant was previously convicted of robbery.3 On September 1, 2022, defendant filed a Romero4 motion, requesting that the trial court exercise its discretion to strike defendant’s prior strike conviction. The People opposed that motion. On September 15, 2022, the trial court denied defendant’s Romero motion, but struck the personal use of a firearm enhancement. The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of 11 years as follows: on count 1, six years (the lower term of three years, doubled due to the prior strike conviction), plus a five-year prior serious felony conviction enhancement (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)); on counts 3 and 4, 32 months (the lower term of 16 months, doubled due to the prior strike conviction), stayed pursuant to section 654. On the same date, the trial court awarded custody credits, imposing the 15-percent limitation under section 2933.1, subdivision (a). The following day, the court corrected

3 On June 14, 2022, the trial court dismissed the aggravating circumstance alleging that defendant’s prior convictions were numerous or of increasing severity. That question was not put to the jury. 4 People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497.

3. the custody credits, concluding that the 15-percent limitation did not apply because it had struck the firearm enhancement. The original abstract of judgment reflected the original award of custody credits. Defendant’s appellate counsel filed an informal motion with the court pursuant to section 1237.1, and the court issued a second amended abstract of judgment reflecting the corrected custody credit award. On September 16, 2022, defendant filed a notice of appeal. FACTUAL SUMMARY The People’s Case In Chief T.V. owned a package delivery company and worked as a driver for the company. On or about November 4, 2021, T.V. hired defendant to work for him as a driver. T.V. rented a cargo van for defendant to use on November 8, 2021. On November 11, 2021, defendant used that cargo van to deliver packages in Madera. On November 16, 2021, Madera County Sheriff’s Detective Stanley Prince contacted T.V. regarding a specific package that was delivered in Madera County on November 11, 2021. Using the tracking number for the package, T.V. was able to determine that the driver identification number for the person who delivered the package for his company belonged to defendant. T.V. identified defendant to Detective Prince using a photograph of defendant’s driver’s license. B.G. lived in Madera County for more than 20 years. He had been previously convicted of two criminal offenses. On November 11, 2021, he lived with his parents in Madera County. On the property, there were seven houses, mostly occupied by his family. There was a single-lane driveway for all of the houses and a sign at the driveway that said “ ‘no trespassing.’ ” On November 11, 2021, when B.G. and his cousin, J.H., arrived home from work they noticed a cargo van parked on the property. The van was between bushes and partially obscuring the “ ‘[n]o trespassing’ ” sign, to the left of the entrance to the driveway, and facing toward the street. B.G. testified that people had stolen from the

4. property before and he was suspicious of the van’s presence. J.H. parked the vehicle in the driveway, parallel to the van; he did not block the van’s egress. After discussing whether they should approach the van for approximately 10 minutes, B.G. walked to the front driver’s side window of the van; J.H. remained in his vehicle with the door open. Defendant sat in the driver seat of the van. He was using his phone and was wearing a black shirt, sweatpants, and a “do-rag.” B.G. became more suspicious because defendant was not wearing any kind of delivery driver uniform. B.G. did not know defendant and had never seen him before. B.G. tapped on the window, defendant rolled down the window, and B.G.

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