People v. Samuelson CA4/1

Filed 8/1/24 P. v. Samuelson CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D083857

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCS269143)

LUCINA BELARMINO SAMUELSON,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Marian F. Gaston, Judge. Affirmed. Christian C. Buckley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. Lucina Belarmino Samuelson appeals from an order after a jury trial extending her commitment as a mentally disordered offender pursuant to

Penal Code1 sections 2970 and 2972. Her counsel submitted a brief pursuant to Conservatorship of Ben C. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 529 and People v. Taylor

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code. 1

(2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 304 stating that he found no arguable issues on appeal. Samuelson was given the opportunity to submit a supplemental brief and then submitted two letters raising certain issues. As explained below, we conclude there is no reversible error and therefore affirm the order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In 2015, Samuelson was convicted of various felony offenses, including a 2013 assault with a deadly weapon with personal infliction of great bodily injury against a person who had purchased her home at a foreclosure sale (§§ 245, subd. (a)(1), 12022.7, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced her to a total term of five years in prison. In 2018, Samuelson was committed to a state psychiatric hospital for three years as a mentally disordered offender pursuant to section 2962. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, her commitment to a state psychiatric hospital was extended for additional one-year periods pursuant to sections 2970 and 2972. On November 20, 2023, the People filed a section 2970 petition to extend Samuelson’s commitment to a state psychiatric hospital for an additional year beyond March 24, 2024. The petition alleged, among other things, that Samuelson was still suffering from a severe mental disorder which was not in remission and could not be kept in remission without treatment and, by reason of such mental disorder, she represented a substantial danger of physical harm to others within the meaning of section 2970 et seq. At a jury trial on the petition, Samuelson, her hospital treating psychiatrist, her adult daughter, and a forensic psychologist testified. On March 15, 2024, the jury returned its verdict finding beyond a reasonable doubt that the petition’s allegations were true. The trial court then issued an order extending Samuelson’s commitment to a state hospital through