People v. Tran CA4/3

Filed 3/13/24 P. v. Tran 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, G061913

v. (Super. Ct. No. 94SF0646)

THO HOANG TRAN, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Michael J. Cassidy, Judge. Affirmed. Patrick Morgan Ford for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Eric A. Swenson and Heather M. Clark, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

In 1995, Tho Hoang Tran pleaded guilty to multiple felonies and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was not a United States citizen, and his convictions carried adverse immigration consequences. In 2022, Tran moved to vacate his convictions under Penal Code section 1473.7, subdivision (a)(1), asserting he had been unaware of the immigration consequences of his plea and would not have entered the plea had he been aware.1 Following a hearing, the trial court denied his motion. Tran challenges this ruling, and we affirm, concluding he did not carry his burden to show he did not understand the immigration consequences of his plea. FACTS I. Tran’s 1995 Convictions In December 1994, the Orange County District Attorney charged Tran, Johnny Nguyen, and another co-defendant with two counts of second degree robbery, three counts of assault with a firearm, and three counts of false imprisonment, with firearm enhancements. The charges carried a maximum penalty of 13 years 4 months in prison. In May 1995, Tran pleaded guilty as charged pursuant to a plea agreement and received a stipulated sentence of seven years in prison. Before pleading guilty, Tran initialed and signed a plea form containing advisements and waivers of various rights (the Tahl form).2 Among the statements Tran initialed was the following acknowledgement: “I understand that if I am not a citizen of the United States, the conviction for the offense charged may have the consequence of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization . . . .”