People v. Chambers CA3

Filed 5/2/22 P. v. Chambers CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Butte) ----

THE PEOPLE, C094244

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. 18CF01308, 18CF01854, 21CF00177) v.

WILLIAM DAN CHAMBERS,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant William Dan Chambers pleaded no contest to felony escape after the trial court denied his motion to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor. He appeals the denial but did not obtain a certificate of probable cause. We dismiss the appeal.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS In view of the limited issue raised on appeal, we provide a brief summary of relevant background.

1

While on probation for burglary and resisting an executive officer, defendant absconded from the sober living facility he was assigned to under a home detention program put in place pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.016. (Statutory section citations that follow are to the Penal Code.) He was found with a stolen aerosol can he used to “get high and relieve the pain.” Charged with felony escape (§ 4532, subd. (b)(1)), defendant moved to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor pursuant to section 17, subdivision (b). Defendant argued for leniency because his relapse was precipitated by a collapse in social services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he had not cut off his global positioning system anklet or attempted to flee when found. The prosecution countered that defendant had “a criminal history dating back to 1981 with felonies as recent as 2018,” and that he was found on the run, nine days after leaving the facility. The court denied defendant’s motion without explanation. Defendant then pleaded no contest to felony escape. His plea agreement is memorialized on a standard form entitled, “PLEA OF GUILTY OR NO CONTEST (FELONY).” On the form, defendant initialed several statements, including that he (1) understood “a plea of no contest is the same as a plea of guilty in the criminal case and for all purposes has the same consequence as a plea of guilty,” (2) would “waive any direct appeal [he] may have, absent any appeal to sentencing error,” (3) could serve a maximum of three years in state prison and owe a fine of $27,000, and (4) understood his felony plea included certain consequences attendant to felony convictions, including parole upon release from prison and lifelong firearms restrictions. Defendant stipulated to the three-year upper term for the escape charge, as well as consecutive one-third the middle terms for the burglary and resisting charges, resulting in an aggregate sentence of four years and four months, which the court imposed. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal. He did not obtain a certificate of probable cause.