P. v. Monroe
Filed 5/24/06 P. v. Monroe CA1/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 TWO
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. WILLIAM ERIK MONROE, Defendant and Appellant. | A109587 (Solano County Super. Ct. No. VCR162572) |
William Erik Monroe appeals from convictions of robbery, false imprisonment by violence, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He contends his trial counsel's failure to investigate a third party culpability defense denied him effective assistance of counsel. We disagree and affirm the convictions.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On August 29, 2002, appellant was charged by information with one count of residential robbery in the first degree (Pen. Code,[1] § 211), two counts of false imprisonment by violence (§ 236) accompanied by personal firearm use allegations (§§ 1203.06, subd. (a)(1), 12022.5, subd. (a)(1)), and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon (§ 12021, subd. (a)(1)). It was further alleged that appellant had suffered four prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) and one prior strike conviction for a robbery (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)). Appellant was arraigned the same day, pled not guilty to all counts and the special allegation, and denied the prior convictions and the enhancements.
After a two-day trial on September 10 and 11, 2003, a jury found appellant guilty on all counts and found the firearm allegations to be true. A subsequent bench trial found all prior conviction allegations to be true. In January 2004, Donald Bergerson replaced trial counsel Thomas Healy as attorney of record; in June 2004, Bergerson moved for a new trial on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court denied the motion on December 3, 2004. Appellant moved for reconsideration, but the court denied that motion on February 17, 2005. On February 24, 2005, the court sentenced appellant to thirty-one years four months in state prison. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on March 16, 2005.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
On the evening of July 13, 2002, a robbery occurred at Laronda Lauderdale's apartment on Porter Street in Vallejo. Lauderdale was at home with Devante, her 11-year-old son, and James, the 13-year-old son of her roommate and cousin Shawana Ward. At about 10:30 p.m., a man claiming to be â€
