People v. Finley CA5

Filed 9/24/21 P. v. Finley CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, F080967 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 1497223) v.

DEANDRE JEROME FINLEY, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Stanislaus County. Dawna Reeves, Judge. Nancy Wechsler, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez and Jennifer Oleksa, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Poochigian, Acting P. J., Franson, J. and Snauffer, J.

Defendant DeAndre Jerome Finley was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to four years in prison. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of two of his five prior felony convictions for purposes of impeachment. The People disagree. We affirm. PROCEDURAL SUMMARY On November 22, 2019, the Stanislaus County District Attorney filed a first amended information charging defendant with making criminal threats (Pen. Code, § 422, subd. (a);1 count 1) and assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 2). The amended information further alleged that defendant had suffered two prior felony “strike” convictions within the meaning of the “Three Strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)) which also qualified as serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)). On January 9, 2020, the jury found defendant guilty on count 2 but not guilty on count 1. In a bifurcated proceeding on January 17, 2020, the trial court found true that defendant had suffered one prior strike conviction and one prior serious felony conviction. On March 12, 2020, the trial court struck the prior strike and prior serious felony allegations and sentenced defendant to the aggravated term of four years on count 2. On March 16, 2020, defendant filed a notice of appeal. FACTUAL SUMMARY Julie K. In October 2015, Julie K. lived in a duplex in Modesto. Defendant’s mother, Winnetta U., moved into the same complex around August 2015. Julie and Winnetta became friends. Julie and her son often brought Winnetta coffee in the mornings because