CA Unpub Decisions

Appellant/defendant Steven Lovely was an inmate at Kern Valley State Prison and housed with Scott McInnis. On the morning of December 25, 2011, correctional officers discovered McInnis was dead and the cell was covered in blood. The coroner later determined that McInnis had been beaten from blunt force trauma, and strangulation was the cause of death.
Defendant was charged with the first degree murder of McInnis. At trial, defendant testified that McInnis was a violent man who tried to kill him, and was jealous that defendant was about to be released on parole while McInnis was serving a lengthy sentence. Defendant testified that McInnis tried to strangle him, he fought back, and he strangled McInnis in self-defense.

Gregory P. Priamos, County Counsel, and James E. Brown, Guy B. Pittman, Carole Nunes Fong, and Prabhath Shettigar, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
On August 8, 2017, the juvenile court terminated defendant and appellant, M.M.’s (Father), parental rights as to S.L. (Minor), born in November 2015. On appeal, Father contends the juvenile court violated his right to due process by terminating his parental rights as a Kelsey S. father without ever rendering a finding that a custody placement of Minor with Father was detrimental to Minor by the clear and convincing evidence standard of proof. In the alternative, Father argues counsel below rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to request the court declare Father a Kelsey S. father. We dismiss the appeal.

In this appeal, we consider whether the trial court lacked jurisdiction pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.2a to terminate probation and impose sentence on a defendant who requested a disposition of her probation in absentia. The matter is being considered with a habeas corpus petition involving the same issues. We affirm.

A jury found defendant and appellant, Shonique Shaquelle Lee Williams, guilty as charged of assaulting her former boyfriend, P.S., with a deadly weapon, a vehicle (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1); count 1) and making a criminal threat against P.S. (§ 422; count 2). Defendant represented herself at trial, but she was represented by counsel in moving for a new trial (§ 1181, cl. (7)) and at sentencing. The court denied defendant’s new trial motion, and sentenced defendant to two years on count 1 and a concurrent two-year term on count 2.

A jury convicted Albert Arthur Farrar of one count of willful infliction of injury on a cohabitant (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)) and one count of assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). The trial court made a true finding that Farrar had two serious felony priors (§ 667, subd. (a)) and two prior strikes (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12). At sentencing, the trial court struck one of the prior strikes and sentenced Farrar to a prison term of 18 years.

Robert T., the presumed father of two-year-old J.T., appeals the juvenile court's disposition order removing J.T. from his custody under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361, subdivision (c)(1), following the court's finding that there would be substantial danger to the physical health, safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of J.T. if she was returned home. Robert claims the court lacked authority to remove J.T. from his custody because J.T. was residing with her mother, Hillary T., not with Robert, at the time the section 300 petition was filed. During the juvenile court proceedings, Robert did not object to the court's disposition order on the ground that section 361, subdivision (c)(1) was inapplicable to him, even though he had prior notice that the San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) would request J.T.'s removal from his custody under that statute.

Valerie Blackman pleaded guilty to assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, §§ 245, subd. (c) & 1192.7, subd. (c)(31)) and admitted a prior strike conviction (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)). The trial court sentenced Blackman to state prison for a determinate term of six years.
Blackman appeals. Her appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende) and Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738 (Anders) and has not raised any specific issues. Blackman's counsel asks this court to review the record independently for error as required by Wende. We granted Blackman the opportunity to file a supplemental brief on her own behalf and she has not responded. We have independently reviewed the record under Wende and have found no reasonably arguable issues for reversal on appeal. We therefore affirm.

Gregg Allen Taylor appeals from his jury conviction of premeditated attempted murder. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 189, 664.) The jury also determined that Taylor personally used a deadly weapon, a knife, within the meaning of section 12022, subdivision (b)(1) and personally inflicted great bodily injury within the meaning of section 12022.7, subdivision (a) and section 1192.7, subdivision (c)(8).
The court sentenced Taylor to life with the possibility of parole and imposed a one-year enhancement for using a knife and a three-year enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.
Taylor contends the evidence was insufficient to sustain the jury's finding that the attempted murder was willful, deliberate, and premeditated. We reject Taylor's contention and affirm the judgment.

Joseph Adalberto Ramirez appeals from a postjudgment order revoking his placement in a conditional release program (CONREP) and recommitting him to a state hospital. (Pen. Code, § 1608.) He contends we must reverse the order because (1) the report submitted by the CONREP requesting the revocation was unreliable; (2) the CONREP violated the revocation procedures in section 1610 in multiple respects; (3) the trial court relied on case-specific hearsay to make the revocation decision in violation of People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 (Sanchez); (4) the revocation decision is not supported by substantial evidence; and (5) the revocation decision violated federal and state constitutional due process requirements.

Plaintiff, cross-defendant and respondent Jamshid Saleh, M.D., doing business as Northern California Neurological Surgery (hereafter Saleh), sued defendants, cross-complainants, and appellants Michael Haigh and Stewart C. Altemus, doing business as Altemus & Wagner (hereafter Altemus; collectively defendants), to recover the difference between what Saleh billed and what Haigh’s insurer paid for Haigh’s medical care. Ultimately, judgment was entered in favor of Saleh. Haigh and Altemus now appeal, contending the trial court erred in denying their motion to enforce settlement, and in its construction and application of the contractual agreements between the parties. We will affirm the judgment.

Minor J.G. appeals from the denial of his petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 to be moved from his current foster placement to the foster home that houses his three brothers. He contends the dependency court abused its discretion in failing to grant a full evidentiary hearing on his petition. He further argues that the court erred in finding he had not met his burden to show a change of circumstances and that it would be in his best interests to move. Faced with the decision between two potentially beneficial homes, we find the court did not abuse its discretion in determining it would be in J.G.’s best interest to remain in the foster placement where he was doing well and had spent most of his young life. We therefore affirm.

On August 22, 2016, a felony complaint was filed against defendant alleging a single count of possession of heroin in jail. (Pen. Code, § 4573.6, subd. (a).) He entered a plea of no contest and was sentenced pursuant to a settlement agreement on October 18, 2016. The trial court selected the mid-term of three years, which was suspended, and placed defendant on three years of formal felony probation. He was ordered to serve 265 days in county jail, which was reduced to time served based on his 265 days of custody and conduct credits.

In a prior appeal, we affirmed the denial of defendant Ronald Dave Renteria’s form petition requesting reclassification of his felony second degree burglary conviction as a misdemeanor pursuant to Penal Code sections 459.5, subdivision (a) and 1170.18, subdivisions (a) and (f), added by voters in the General Election in November 2014 as part of Proposition 47 (The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act). We did so without prejudice to defendant filing a new petition supported by evidence demonstrating the value of the property taken during the burglary. He filed a new petition, which the trial court denied. We affirm.
Defendant has also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus raising the same issues. We deny the petition.

A jury convicted Pedro Alex Dunn (defendant) of ten counts of lewd acts on a child (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)) and two counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child (§ 288, subd. (b)(1)). The jury found true the allegations that the offenses involved multiple victims (§ 667.61, subds. (b) & (e)), and that the statute of limitations had been extended for counts 8 through 13, which involved K.M. (§ 803, subd. (f)(1)). The second victim was K.M.’s sister, M.M. The trial court sentenced defendant to a total term of 180 years to life in state prison, consisting of a term of 15 years to life for each of the twelve counts imposed consecutively. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal.