People v. Ortega CA4/1

Filed 6/23/21 P. v. Ortega CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D078226

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD152560)

RICARDO ORTEGA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Peter C. Deddeh, Judge. Affirmed. Ricardo Ortega, in pro. per.; and Athena Shudde, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. In 2001, a jury convicted Ricardo Ortega of first degree murder (Pen.

Code,1 § 187, subd. (a)). Ortega was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison. Ortega appealed and this court affirmed the

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

judgment in an unpublished opinion filed November 26, 2002. (People v. Bonilla, et al. (Nov. 26, 2002, D037882) nonpub. opn.].) In 2019, Ortega filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.95. The trial court appointed counsel, received briefing, reviewed the record of conviction and this court’s prior opinion. The court found Ortega was a direct perpetrator and that the jury was not instructed on felony murder or natural and probable consequences. Accordingly, the court found Ortega had not stated a prima facie case for relief under section 1170.95 and denied the petition. Ortega filed a timely notice of appeal. Appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 indicating counsel has not been able to identify any arguable issues for reversal on appeal. Counsel asks the court to review the record for error as mandated by Wende. Ortega has responded with a very brief statement of two facts regarding the trial court’s actions. We will discuss Ortega’s supplemental filing below. STATEMENT OF FACTS Ortega’s brief has a summary of the facts of the offense as set forth in our prior opinion. We incorporate that summary here for background. Basis of Petition - Original Guilt Proceedings The petition was based on Ortega’s April 2, 2001 conviction of first degree murder. On August 9, 2000, the San Diego County District Attorney filed an information charging Ortega and Gabriel Miguel Bonilla with the 1999 murder of Eric H. (§ 187, subd. (a).) The information further alleged that Ortega had suffered three prior prison terms. (former § 667.5, subd. (b).)