People v. Burns CA1/3

Filed 9/30/25 P. v. Burns CA1/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A168662

v. (San Mateo County FRANK BURNS, Super. Ct. No. 23SF002808A) Defendant and Appellant.

Frank Burns appeals from a judgment following his convictions for conspiracy and inducing false testimony by a victim of domestic violence. After finding Burns had a prior strike conviction, the trial court sentenced him under the Three Strikes law to an aggregate term of 32 months in prison. On appeal, Burns contends the court erred in denying his motion to strike his prior strike conviction pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero). We shall affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND In June 2023, Burns was charged by information with committing three offenses: conspiracy to induce false testimony, a felony (Pen. Code, §§ 137, subd. (c), 182, subd. (a)(1))1; inducing false testimony, a misdemeanor

1 Statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

(§ 137, subd. (c)); and conspiring to violate a protective order, a felony (§§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 166, subd. (c)(1)). The events that gave rise to these charges occurred in November 2022, when Burns was in jail for an unrelated matter. Burns’s cellmate at the time, Jason Hewitt, had been charged with domestic violence and was subject to a restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim, Sarah Doe, either directly or through a third party. Evidence presented at trial showed that between November 17 and November 23, 2022, Burns acted as an intermediary between Hewitt and Doe by arranging and participating in phone calls with Doe and by using a chess game metaphor to coach Doe about what to say if called to testify against Hewitt. The evidence also showed that Doe followed Burns’s directions when she testified at Hewitt’s preliminary hearing. And after Burns was released from jail in December, he continued to maintain contact with Doe and to act as Hewitt’s intermediary. Burns denied wrongdoing, testifying at trial that he did not know about the restraining order prohibiting Hewitt from contacting Doe. Burns explained to the jury that he reached out to Doe of his own accord in his capacity as a senior inmate at the jail because it was his responsibility to investigate charges against new inmates, and he denied attempting to influence her testimony. On June 16, 2023, the jury convicted Burns of all charges. On June 22, the court found Burns had suffered a 1991 conviction for first degree murder that constitutes a strike under the Three Strikes law. (§§ 187, 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12.) The court found that the People also proved that Burns incurred another felony conviction in 2001 for possession of a weapon while in custody. (§ 4502, subd. (a).) In addition, the People presented evidence that Burns was convicted of committing a felony burglary in 2022,