People v. Thomas CA2/6

Filed 8/20/20 P. v. Thomas CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B298887 (Super. Ct. No. 2015004140) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

GREGORY ROMEL THOMAS, JR.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Gregory Romel Thomas, Jr., appeals from the judgment after a jury convicted him of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. (Pen. Code,1 § 245, subd. (c).) Thomas admitted he suffered two prior serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)) and two prior strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12). The trial court sentenced him to 25 years-to-life in state prison.

1 Further unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code.

Thomas contends (1) his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance, (2) the trial court erred when it denied his Romero motion,2 and (3) his sentence as a third strike offender was unauthorized. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY A shop owner reported a crime and directed police officers to a Toyota Corolla in the parking lot. As Thomas was pulling out of the parking stall and driving the Corolla toward the officers, one of the officers tried to stop the Corolla. The officer walked in front of the car, held up one hand, and shined a flashlight on “strobe mode” toward the front of the car. Thomas accelerated towards the officer at approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour. The officer pushed off the hood of the car to move out of the way. The officer testified that had he not done so, Thomas would have run him over. After the jury’s conviction, Thomas retained new counsel and moved to strike his two prior strike convictions pursuant to Romero. Thomas argued, among other things, that his prior strikes were 25 years old and that he did not intend to injure the officer. The trial court reviewed the probation report, which included Thomas’s criminal history. The probation report stated that in 1994, Thomas was convicted of two separate armed robberies by an Oklahoma state court. He was also convicted in federal court of conspiracy to commit carjacking. He was released from prison in November 2001 and placed on supervised release for three years. In December 2002, he was convicted of loitering for the purpose of prostitution and placed on probation