People v. Beltran CA3

Filed 1/18/24 P. v. Beltran CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C098365

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. STK-CR-FE-2014-0007387, SF129018A) v.

ANTHONY RAY BELTRAN,

Defendant and Appellant.

In November 2014, defendant Anthony Ray Beltran pled guilty to one count of committing a lewd act on a child. The trial court sentenced defendant to one year in prison.

1

In August 2022, defendant filed a motion to reduce the felony conviction to a misdemeanor under Penal Code1 section 17, subdivision (b). Defendant argued he had completed the conditions of his parole and had not committed any other offenses since his conviction. The prosecution filed a response, noting defendant had been sentenced to prison and was thus ineligible for relief. In March 2023, the trial court held a hearing on the motion. Defendant cited section 17, subdivision (b)(3) and argued it gave the court discretion to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor.2 The court denied the motion. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal. DISCUSSION We appointed counsel to represent defendant on appeal. Counsel filed an opening brief setting forth the facts of the case and requesting that this court review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Defendant was advised of his right to file a supplemental brief within 30 days of the date of filing of the opening brief. More than 30 days have passed, and defendant did not file a supplemental brief.

In People v. Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d at page 441, our Supreme Court held that “Courts of Appeal must conduct a review of the entire record whenever appointed counsel submits a brief on direct appeal which raises no specific issues or describes the appeal as frivolous.” (People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216, 221.) The Wende procedure applies “to the first appeal as of right and is compelled by the constitutional