People v. Singh CA3

Filed 12/6/24 P. v. Singh CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C100613

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MAN-CR-FE- 2020-0005721) v.

SIMRAN SINGH,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Simran Singh guilty of contact with a minor to commit a sexual offense and meeting a minor for lewd purposes. He was sentenced to two years of formal probation and 180 days in county jail. On appeal, he contends that he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel when his lawyer called a witness to corroborate Singh’s exculpatory testimony without having reviewed damaging text messages that the prosecution used to severely impeach the witness’s credibility and her account of events. Finding no prejudice from counsel’s omission, we affirm.

1

BACKGROUND I. In June 2020, sheriff’s deputy Christopher Sterni was assigned to a special operation that placed advertisements on Craigslist posing as young girls. Sterni posted an advertisement with a phone number in Missed Connections, a section on the Craigslist website where people look for sexual relationships. The advertisement, titled “Small town girl, Lathrop,” stated, “Hey guys, free during the daytime to hang with. Wanting a good time. Hit me up.” On June 17, 2020, Singh texted, “Hi,” to the number in the advertisement followed by a text message stating, “I’m free to hang today. Got my own place, ride, and $.” On June 18, 2020, Sterni responded: “Nice, I don’t drive, sorry. My parents had my phone yesterday, just got it back.” After Sterni and Singh texted each other that they were free that day, Sterni wrote, “tell me a little bit about you.” Singh responded: “I’m [36] from Manteca, height 5-10.” Sterni responded: “That’s good. I’m younger, hope it won’t bother you.” Singh texted: “Are you at least 21?” Sterni responded: “No.” Singh sent another text: “18? LOL [laugh out loud].” Sterni responded: “But I’m not . . . here looking for a relationship.” Singh sent back a text: “Me neither, I just got out of a relationship.” Singh asked for a name and photo. Sterni texted, “My friends call me Mindy. If . . . I send it, will you send me one?” Sterni sent a photo of a sheriff’s office employee over the age of 21, taken with filters to make her look younger. When Singh received the photo, he texted, “Ah, you’re so cute . . . and pretty,” and sent “Mindy” his picture. After receiving the photo, Sterni texted: “You’re handsome. I hope me being almost 14 doesn’t bother you.” Singh sent a text stating, “I’m very open minded and nonjudgmental,” followed by another saying, “But you’re too young.” He then texted: “What are you looking for?” Sterni responded: “No relationship, just FWB,” an acronym for “friends with benefits.” Singh texted: “Okay, we can def be friends. Let me