People v. Rodriguez CA3

Filed 5/4/22 P. v. Rodriguez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C093171

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MANCRFE20200003484) v.

CASEY BERNARD RODRIGUEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Casey Bernard Rodriguez guilty of manufacturing butane honey oil. In a subsequent bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found defendant’s prior serious felony conviction for bank robbery true. At sentencing, the trial court denied defendant’s Romero motion to strike the prior conviction. Defendant appeals, arguing the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to strike his prior conviction. There was no error and we affirm the judgment.

1

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS On the evening of March 30, 2020, police officers were called to defendant’s home, where he lived with his mother V.C. to investigate V.C.’s report that defendant had threatened her with a machete-style knife. During the search for the knife, one of the officers found what was later characterized as a butane honey oil lab in a cabinet in a detached garage. The officer also found a bag of marijuana shake that weighed 1,060 grams. Defendant admitted to the officer that he smoked marijuana and that he had watched YouTube videos about how to process butane honey oil. The expert testifying for the People opined 1,060 grams of marijuana “shake” would make 1,060 usable dosages of butane honey oil. V.C. confirmed defendant had access to the detached garage and spent a lot of time there every day. The tape used around the arm of defendant’s wheelchair also had a similar pattern as the tape found on one of the cylindrical tubes in the lab and a roll of tape found in the cabinet. The People filed an amended information on June 30, 2020, charging defendant with one count of manufacturing butane honey oil (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379.6, subd. (a)), one count of criminal threats (Pen. Code, § 422, subd. (a); statutory section citations that follow are to the Penal Code), one count of elder abuse (§ 368, subd. (b)(1)), and one count of violating a court order (§ 273.6, subd. (a)). The amended information also alleged defendant had sustained a prior serious felony conviction for bank robbery in 1996. (§ 1170.12, subd. (b).) On July 17, 2020, a jury found defendant guilty of manufacturing butane honey oil. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379.6, subd. (a).) In a subsequent bifurcated proceeding on December 7, 2020, the trial court found defendant’s prior serious felony conviction allegation to be true. (§ 1170.12, subd. (b).) The trial court sentenced defendant to six years in state prison, consisting of the low term of three years for the illegal