P. v. Christmas
Filed 3/16/06 P. v. Christmas CA1/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CLARENCE BERNARD CHRISTMAS, Defendant and Appellant. | A110692 (Mendocino County Super. Ct. No. SCUK-CRCR-05- 64543-02) |
Defendant Clarence Bernard Christmas appeals from a judgment entered after he pled guilty to one count of commercial burglary. He contends the trial court abused its discretion by denying his request to dismiss a prior strike conviction under People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero) and by imposing the midterm rather than the low term sentence. We affirm.
Factual and Procedural History
Defendant pled guilty to one count of second degree commercial burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 460, subd. (b))[1] and admitted to having suffered one prior strike conviction for attempted robbery in 1999 (§§ 667, 1170.12). An additional count of receiving stolen property was dismissed. Defendant was advised that based on his plea he faced a maximum sentence of six years.
The probation report prepared for the sentencing hearing provides the following factual background on the present offense. At approximately 5:19 a.m. on March 31, 2005, police officers responded to a burglary alarm that had been triggered at a jewelry store in Ukiah. When they arrived the glass on the front door was broken and defendant was still inside. Defendant was arrested without incident. Once inside, the officers reported that a number of glass jewelry display cabinets had been broken and that there was glass everywhere. The owner of the store reported that the only rings missing were cubic zirconias, valued at approximately $15 each. After his arrest, defendant told the officers that he had been homeless since March 2005, following the death of his domestic partner in September 2004. He said he was looking for a place to sleep that night, but got fed up and wanted to â€
