People v. Agraz CA4/1

Filed 11/10/22 P. v. Agraz CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, D080089

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD290546)

RICHARD LIAS AGRAZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Runston G. Maino, Judge. Affirmed. Arielle Bases, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Melissa Mandel, and Tami Falkenstein Hennick, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. In this appeal from a judgment of conviction, appellant Ricardo Lias Agraz challenges only the sentence the trial court imposed. Agraz contends the trial court abused its discretion in imposing a middle term sentence of

three years instead of the lower term of two years pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1170, subdivision (b)(6). A jury convicted Agraz of robbery (§ 211) and simple assault as a lesser offense of assault with a deadly weapon. The jury found the allegation that Agraz used a knife not true. The court sentenced Agraz to the middle term of three years in prison for the robbery conviction. Agraz filed a timely notice of appeal. Agraz contends the trial court erred in failing to impose the lower term of imprisonment pursuant to section 1170, subdivision (b)(6). We reject Agraz’s contention and find the trial court acted well within its authority in rejecting Agraz’s arguments and affirm the judgment. STATEMENT OF FACTS The facts of the offense are not in dispute. This appeal only addresses the court’s sentencing choice. We will utilize Agraz’s summary of the facts for convenience. On June 13, 2021, Felipe G. was working as a loss prevention officer in the bike recovery department for Wheels Lab. At around 7:30 p.m., Felipe saw Agraz in a Lexus parking lot with a Wheels Lab bike. Felipe received a notification from his boss that someone was pushing an unpaid-for bike. According to Felipe, he asked Agraz for the bike, and Agraz refused to relinquish it. Also, according to Felipe, Agraz tried to fight him, threatened that he would stab him, and had his hands in fists.