Opinion
F085360
11-17-2023
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ROBERT CARLOS BELTRAN, Defendant and Appellant.
Rex Adam Williams, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Stanislaus County., No. CR-22-000932 Dawna Reeves, Judge.
Rex Adam Williams, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINION
THE COURT [*]
Appointed counsel for appellant Robert Carlos Beltran asked this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Beltran was advised of his right to file a supplemental brief within 30 days of the date of filing of the opening brief. We have received no response from him. Finding no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to Beltran, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
Beltran was in custody at the county jail. On the evening of January 10, 2022, during a time when inmates were allowed out of their cells to exchange linens and clothing, Custodial Deputy Santiago Orozco Cruz, the only deputy on duty in housing unit D, noticed three inmates - Beltran, Edgar Mendez, and Adam Estrada - throwing punches at each other. Deputy Cruz called for other staff and ordered the inmates to the ground. Once the inmates were on the ground, Deputy Cruz noticed blood on the floor and blood on the left side of Estrada's face. Deputy Cruz did not see any weapons, and a photograph taken of Beltran at the time did not reveal any blood on him. A video recording of the altercation showed Beltran and Mendez assaulting Estrada, who ended up on the ground.
Sheriff's Deputy Bharat Sharma, an investigator in the "correctional investigations unit," interviewed Estrada the next day and saw an injury on his face consistent with a cut from a shank or bladed weapon. Such a "mark" or "puto mark" or "bitch mark" is inflicted on inmates who have fallen out of favor with other inmates. The marks are designed to be permanent. Within the gang culture, such a mark signifies a gang member who is in bad standing with the gang, perhaps as a snitch.
When Estrada had been arrested earlier on January 4, 2022, Police Officer Edgar Villalpando, on the street gang unit, did not see a scar on Estrada's face. Beltran, Mendez and Estrada were all alleged to be gang members affiliated with the Norteno or a subset of Norteno gang, and it was opined by Deputy Sharma that, since the assault of Estrada was committed in front of witnesses and on camera, it was planned and an ordered hit, and that Beltran and Mendez were acting on behalf of "the gang."
On April 15, 2022, Beltran and codefendant Mendez were charged with mayhem (Pen. Code, § 203); assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), and participating in a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (a)). It was further alleged that the offenses were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)) and that Beltran had a prior serious felony and strike conviction (§ 667, subds. (a), (d).)
All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.
On June 29, 2022, a jury found Beltran and Mendez guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted mayhem and guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. The jury found true that codefendant Mendez personally used a weapon in the commission of the attempted mayhem. On July 5, 2022, in a bifurcated proceeding, the jury found Beltran and Mendez guilty of participating in a criminal street gang and found the remaining gang allegations true. On July 29, 2022, the trial court subsequently found the prior serious felony and strike allegation true.
On November 7, 2022, Beltran entered into a negotiated plea in another case to mayhem, a strike, and a serious felony enhancement, with an agreed term of 13 years in that case. The agreement also included an agreed sentence in the current case of a consecutive term of two years for the assault with a deadly weapon conviction, plus a consecutive gang participation conviction one year, eight months, for a term of three years, eight months in the current case, consecutive to the 13 years in the other case. The result was a total aggregate term in both cases of 16 years, eight months. As part of the agreement, Beltran waived any right to appeal the disposition in either case.
On November 28, 2022, the trial court sentenced Beltran in the current case (case No. CR-22-000932) pursuant to the plea agreement, to one-third the middle term on the assault conviction, doubled, for two years, plus one year, eight months for the gang enhancement. This sentence was consecutive to a term of 13 years imposed in the other case (case No. CR-20-008508). Sentence on the remaining counts and enhancements were stayed pursuant to section 654.
DISCUSSION
After independent review of the record, we find that no reasonably arguable factual or legal issues exist.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed. --------- Notes: [*] Before Detjen, Acting P. J., Pena, J. and Meehan, J.