People v. Silas CA1/1

Filed 3/27/24 P. v. Silas CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A167178 v. SHELDON SILAS, (Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. 05001407097) Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant Sheldon Silas was originally sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after a jury convicted him of two counts of murder and other crimes in connection with the 2012 killings of Christopher Zinn and Brieanna Dow. (People v. Silas (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 1057, 1064–1066 (Silas I).) We reversed Silas’s and his co-defendants’ convictions due to a Batson/Wheeler1 error. (Id. at p. 1064.) On remand, Silas entered a no- contest plea to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and a firearm enhancement. In December 2022, the trial court sentenced him to 26 years in prison. In this appeal from the 2022 judgment, Silas’s counsel asked this court to conduct an independent review of the record under People v. Wende (1979)

1 Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79; People v. Wheeler (1978)

22 Cal.3d 258.

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25 Cal.3d 436 to determine whether there are any arguable issues.2 Silas then filed a supplemental letter brief in which he argues that the trial court erred in calculating his custody credits. But Silas waived his right to appeal on such grounds as part of the plea agreement, and he did not obtain a certificate of probable cause enabling him to challenge the waiver’s validity. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. The underlying facts are not relevant. In November 2022, on remand from our reversal of the original judgment in Silas I, Silas entered a plea agreement under which he pled no contest to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and admitted to personally using a firearm during the killing of Zinn.3 The following month, the trial court sentenced Silas to a total term of 26 years in prison, composed of 11 years for the killing of Zinn and consecutive terms of 4 years for the accompanying firearm enhancement and 11 years for the killing of Dow. The remaining counts and allegations were dismissed. As part of the plea agreement, Silas waived his right to appeal by initialing a box on his plea form next to the following statement: “I understand that I have the right to appeal this sentence, conviction and any rulings made by the Court in this case. I give up my right to appeal in exchange for accepting this negotiated disposition.” He and his trial counsel also indicated in writing and at the plea hearing that he understood and voluntarily accepted the consequences of the plea, and the trial court so