People v. Mendiola CA2/4

California Court of Appeal Dec 29, 2025 No. B337276Unpublished

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Holding. The court held that the defendant forfeited his challenge to the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences by failing to object at the sentencing hearing, and further concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its sentencing decision. The court also ordered the correction of clerical errors in the abstract of judgment to align with the oral pronouncement.

Issues

Whether the defendant forfeited his challenge to the imposition of consecutive sentences by failing to object in the trial court.
Whether the trial court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive sentences for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Whether the abstract of judgment requires correction to reflect the trial court's oral sentencing pronouncement.

Disposition. Affirmed as modified

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“A “defendant who fails to object before the trial court to a sentence on the ground that it is being ‘imposed in a procedurally or factually flawed manner’ generally forfeits the right to challenge such error on appeal.””

“The trial court has broad discretion under section 669 to impose consecutive sentences when a defendant is convicted of two or more crimes.”

“An abstract of judgment is not the judgment of conviction; it does not control if different from the trial court’s oral judgment and may not add to or modify the judgment it purports to digest or summarize.”

Filed 12/29/25 P. v. Mendiola CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B337276

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA151048) v.

JOSE MENDIOLA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Kelvin D. Filer Judge. Affirmed as modified with directions. Steven Lubliner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Lauren N. Guber, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

MEMORANDUM OPINION1 On direct appeal, we affirmed appellant Jose Mendiola’s convictions for the second degree murder of Alexiz Orona (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1); conspiracy to commit murder (§ 182, subd. (a)(1); count 2); the willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder of Valentin Quintero (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664; count 3); and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle (§ 246, count 4). (People v. Mendiola (Jan. 6, 2023, B313404) [nonpub. opn.].) However, we vacated the jury’s findings on the gang and gang- related firearm enhancements, and also vacated the sentences on counts 1 and 4. We remanded the matter for possible retrial of the gang and gang-related firearm allegations and resentencing. (Ibid.) We grant appellant’s unopposed request for judicial notice of the record in that appeal. On remand, the prosecution declined to retry the gang and gang-related firearm enhancements. Appellant filed a written sentencing brief requesting that the court run the sentences on all four counts concurrently, “based on Jose Mendiola’s age, lack of prior criminal history, his home environment and the circumstances leading to the incident which resulted in Alexis [sic] Orona’s death.” Appellant supported the brief with a 14- page “psychosocial history” prepared by a social worker who interviewed him and members of his family. His counsel

People v. Mendiola CA2/4

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B337276

JOSE MENDIOLA,

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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

COLLINS, J.

ZUKIN, P. J. TAMZARIAN, J.

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