People v. Bates CA1/4

Filed 5/31/23 P. v. Bates CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A166798 v. RONALD ARLEN BATES, JR. (Del Norte County Superior Court No. Defendant and Appellant. CRF21-9475)

Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant Ronald Arlen Bates, Jr. entered a no contest plea to one felony count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury. He was sentenced to the low term of two years in state prison with credit for having served 88 days in custody, and the court imposed various fines and fees. The court further ordered defendant to pay direct restitution of $76.96 to the County of Del Norte, representing the cost of repairing the county vehicle defendant had damaged. Defendant’s counsel has filed an opening brief asking that we conduct an independent review of the record for arguable issues—i.e., those that are not frivolous, as required by People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende). Counsel also informed defendant of his right to file a supplemental brief on his own behalf, but defendant did not do so. Finding no arguable issues, we shall affirm.

1

BACKGROUND Defendant was originally charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon. During the preliminary hearing, a county worker testified that defendant became enraged by the worker’s advisement that defendant could not camp on county property in an unlicensed vehicle. Upon hearing this statement, defendant said, “What are you going to do about it?” and threw a rock near the worker’s head, breaking the window of the county truck the worker was driving. After the preliminary hearing, the People filed an information charging defendant with the same felony count and an additional misdemeanor count of vandalism. Defendant subsequently agreed to plead no contest to an amended felony count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury (instead of assault with a deadly weapon), in exchange for dismissal of the misdemeanor vandalism charge and a sentence not to exceed the low term of two years in state prison.1 As part of the plea deal, defendant agreed that the court could order restitution and consider the preliminary hearing transcript as the factual basis for the plea. The trial court ordered a presentence investigation report, which defendant received. The court found defendant to be unsuited for probation based on defendant’s 18 prior convictions, the increasing severity of his acts of violence, and his poor performance on multiple prior grants of probation. The court therefore sentenced defendant to the low term of two years with custody credits and various fines and fees. The court also ordered restitution