People v. Martinez CA4/1

Filed 11/10/22 P. v. Martinez CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D080719

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. INF045974)

NOAVA MICHELLE MARTINEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Riverside County, Samuel Diaz, Jr., Judge. Affirmed. Mark D. Johnson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. In 2009, a jury convicted Noava Michelle Martinez of murder (Pen.

Code,1 § 187, subd. (a)); evading police with reckless driving (Veh. Code, § 2800.2); and six counts of assault on a peace officer with a firearm (§ 245,

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified.

subd. (d)(2)). Martinez admitted three prison priors (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) and one strike prior (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)). Martinez was sentenced to a determinate term of 40 years and four months, to be followed by an indeterminate term of 30 years to life. In February 2022, Martinez filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.95 (now renumbered section 1172.6). The trial court appointed counsel, reviewed the record, and held a brief hearing. The court concluded Martinez was the actual killer who drove the car causing the victim’s death. The court denied the petition for failure to state a prima facie case for relief under the statute. Martinez filed a timely notice of appeal. Appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende), indicating counsel has not been able to identify any arguable issues for reversal on appeal. Counsel asks the court to review the record for error as mandated by Wende. We offered Martinez the opportunity to file her own brief on appeal, but she has not responded. STATEMENT OF FACTS Appellate counsel has provided a statement of facts from the probation officer’s report. We think the summary is helpful to provide background for the trial court’s rather brief explanation of its reasons for concluding Martinez was the actual killer. We will adopt the statement of facts as it is set forth in the opening brief. “On November 21, 2003, at approximately 2:15 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department Career Criminal Apprehension Team (CCAT) began surveillance on Michael Sanchez, who was a suspect in a carjacking. Sanchez had been observed in the passenger seat of a vehicle as it drove past a CCAT member who was patrolling in the city of Desert Hot Springs. The vehicle was