People v. Valenzuela CA2/2

Filed 9/1/16 P. v. Valenzuela CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, B269502

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA084505) v.

EDGARDO VALENZUELA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Monica Bachner, Judge. Affirmed.

Sally Patrone Brajevich, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Roberta L. Davis, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ******

Edgardo Valenzuela (defendant) entered a plea to being an accessory after the fact (Pen. Code, § 32)1 and to being a felon in possession of a firearm (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1)). The trial court sentenced him to consecutive sentences for each crime. On appeal, defendant argues that the court was obligated by section 654 to stay his felon-in- possession sentence. We disagree, and affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Defendant has a twin brother, and the People charged defendant’s twin with murder (§ 187, subd. (a)), several counts of second degree robbery (§ 211), several counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon (§ 245, subd. (b)), and several counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition (§§ 29800, subd. (a)(1) & 30305, subd. (a)(1)). The People charged defendant with being a felon in possession of a firearm and with being an accessory after the fact. The charges against defendant are based on (1) a witness’s statement to police that she saw defendant hand his brother a “shiny” object prior to the shooting, and that the gun the brother used to kill his murder victim was “shiny,” and (2) defendant’s admission that his brother handed him a “strap” after shooting the murder victim, told him it was “hot,” and told defendant to get out of the area. Prior to any preliminary hearing, defendant entered an “open plea” to both counts with no assurance of any particular sentence from the trial court.2 He also admitted that he was previously convicted of grand theft. (§ 487, subd. (d)(1).) The trial court sentenced defendant to prison for three years and eight months— comprised of three years on the accessory count and a consecutive, eight-month sentence