People v. Hicks CA2/1

Filed 9/3/24 P. v. Hicks CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, B335462

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. YA107345) v.

BRUCE WAYNE HICKS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Hector M. Guzman, Judge. Affirmed. Richard B. Lennon, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Defendant Bruce Wayne Hicks appeals from his conviction by plea of evading a police officer. (Veh. Code, § 2800.2.) His appellate counsel found no arguable issues to raise on appeal and filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende). After independently reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY During a preliminary hearing, the following facts were adduced. Defendant walked out of a supermarket with a shopping cart full of groceries without paying for them. When a store manager questioned him, defendant told the employee to “back off or [he would] shoot” the employee. As defendant spoke, he moved his hand “across [his] belt front to back,” which indicated to the employee that defendant had a weapon. Defendant got into a vehicle that did not have a license plate and drove away. The employee called 911 and reported the incident. After a police officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop of defendant’s vehicle using his patrol car’s sirens and red lights, defendant drove onto a freeway and drove his vehicle at speeds more than 100 miles per hour. The pursuit ended about five miles after it began when defendant stopped his car in the middle of a freeway. On April 5, 2023, the district attorney filed an information charging defendant with one count of robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), and one count of evading a peace officer (Veh. Code, § 2800.2). The information further alleged that defendant had a prior strike conviction for robbery. (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)–(j), 1170.12.)