People v. Brown CA2/2

Filed 3/18/22 P. v. Brown CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B312897

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA109769) v.

BERNARD BROWN, JR.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT: Bernard Brown, Jr. appeals the judgment following resentencing on remittitur. We appointed counsel to represent appellant on appeal. After examination of the record, counsel filed an opening brief raising no issues and asking this court to independently review the record. Appellant filed his own supplemental brief, in propria persona.

BACKGROUND1 In the early morning hours of June 25, 2018, appellant entered the gated parking garage of an apartment complex and broke into three vehicles parked next to each other (counts 1, 4 and 5). Various items were missing from each car, including a Louis Vuitton wallet and other wallets containing debit and credit cards. Within hours of the burglaries, surveillance video at a Target store recorded appellant using the credit/debit cards of two of the victims to make a purchase. On his arrest a few weeks later, appellant was found in possession of the Louis Vuitton wallet and a device used for breaking car windows. He was wearing shoes with distinctive shoelaces matching those of the person in the video, and his tattoos were consistent with the tattoos visible on the subject of the surveillance video. Appellant was convicted following a jury trial of four counts of first degree residential burglary (counts 1, 2, 4, and 5; Pen. Code,2 § 459) and one count of driving or taking a vehicle without consent (count 3; Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)). Appellant admitted two prior serious felony convictions that qualified as strikes. The trial court found no justification to strike the prior