People v. Medina CA4/3

Filed 2/10/22 P. v. Medina CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G060058

v. (Super. Ct. No. 17CF2370)

HECTOR ROJAS MEDINA, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Maria D. Hernandez, Judge. Affirmed. Lizabeth Weis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance by Plaintiff and Respondent.

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A jury found defendant Hector Rojas Medina guilty of committing sex offenses against two children and found true a multiple victim sentencing allegation. The trial court imposed a life sentence. Medina’s appointed appellate counsel filed a brief raising no arguable issues. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) We have independently reviewed the trial court record and have similarly found no arguable issues. Thus, we affirm the judgment.

I BRIEF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In Wende appeals, the California Supreme Court has directed appellate courts to outline “a brief description of the facts and procedural history of the case, the crimes of which the defendant was convicted, and the punishment imposed.” (People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 109-110.) In August 2017, Medina and his girlfriend Alma R. were living together in a one bedroom garage apartment in Santa Ana. Also sharing the room were Alma’s younger sisters, Guadalupe (eight years old) and Maria (11 years old). One night Alma R. woke up and saw Medina rubbing Maria’s vagina. Later, Alma saw Medina in bed with Maria. Alma had told the girls not to say anything because she was afraid of Medina and his family. Guadalupe eventually disclosed Medina had penetrated her vagina with his penis on two occasions. A sexual assault exam was later conducted on Guadalupe, but it was inconclusive given that her last contact with Medina had occurred at least three days earlier. Maria eventually disclosed Medina had once touched her vagina over her clothes and had once touched her breasts. When Maria first talked to a police officer, she did not tell the truth about what happened. Police interviewed Medina for about three hours. After Medina provided a DNA sample, police lied to him and told him that the lab found a match of his DNA on