People v. Pedroza CA4/3

Filed 11/14/23 P. v. Pedroza CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G062336

v. (Super. Ct. No. 08HF1486)

CESAR ARIEL PEDROZA, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Louis Clapp, Judge. Affirmed. Allen G. Weinberg, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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In 2013, Cesar Ariel Pedroza was convicted of attempted murder, conspiracy, and street terrorism and was ultimately sentenced to an aggregate term of 25 years in state prison. In 2022, Pedroza filed a petition pursuant to former Penal Code section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6) 1 seeking resentencing on his murder conviction. The trial court denied the petition. Pedroza filed a notice of appeal. Appointed appellate counsel filed an opening brief raising no arguable issues. (See People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) In the interests of justice, this court has reviewed the record and found no arguable issues. (See People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216, 230 [“if the appellate court wishes, it may also exercise its discretion to conduct its own independent review of the record in the interest of justice”].) Thus, we affirm the order of the trial court.

I FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND We draw the facts from our prior opinion. “[O]n July 28, 2008, defendant was 17 years old. Defendant, who was a Varrio Little Town gang member, went to a retail store with fellow gang members Salvador Burciaga, Oscar Ramos, and Nestor Lopez. They purchased several items, including a distinctive hat. The presence of all four was recorded on store video. “After they left, all four got into a car, which, according to a statement later given to police by Ramos, was driven by defendant. They stopped at Burciaga’s house. Burciaga went inside and came back out with a shotgun. Thereafter, they went to a location in Costa Mesa.