Opinion
E075925
03-19-2021
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JONATHAN ALAN FLORA, Defendant and Appellant.
Steven S. Lubliner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. (Super.Ct.No. INF1700919) OPINION APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Dean Benjamini, Judge. Affirmed. Steven S. Lubliner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
I
INTRODUCTION
While a guest in the elderly victim's home, defendant and appellant Jonathan Alan Flora fatally stabbed the victim and then dumped the victim's body into the swimming pool at the residence. Afterwards, defendant stole the victim's car, and, when found by police, evaded officers while having four occupants in the vehicle and refusing to let them out. In a plea to the court, defendant pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) with the personal use of a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). He also pleaded guilty to nine other felony offenses and admitted that he had suffered two prior strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (c) & (e)(2)(A), 1170.12, subd. (c)(2)(A)) and two prior serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced defendant to a determinate term of seven years and an indeterminate term of 100 years to life. Defendant appeals from the judgment. Based on our independent review of the record, we find no arguable issue and affirm the judgment.
All future statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.
II
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A summary of the factual background is taken from the preliminary hearing transcript. --------
Sometime in February 2017, after his release from prison, defendant began living with the victim, who was 75 years old at the time, in the victim's home in Palm Springs. Prior to the current incident, defendant and the victim had an altercation. The altercation escalated into a physical altercation where defendant grabbed the victim's throat and pressed a knife into the victim's side.
On May 16, 2017, police officers responded to the victim's house to conduct a homicide investigation. Upon arrival, officers noted the kitchen door was open and there was water on the living room floor. As they walked into the backyard of the home, they saw the victim floating in the pool facedown. The parties stipulated that the victim died of multiple stab wounds. Officers also discovered that defendant had attempted to spray down the blood inside the living room. A folding knife with blood on it was found in the living room. Officers further determined that the victim's vehicle, credit cards, cash, driver's license, and cell phone had been taken by defendant.
After defendant murdered the victim, he sought the assistance of a friend. The friend, who also knew the victim, reluctantly let defendant into his house because defendant needed help with his badly bleeding cut finger. Defendant arrived at the friend's home in a silver car. While he was helping him, defendant made statements about having killed the victim. The friend called police after reading about the killing online.
Defendant later picked up another friend and three other individuals he met at a drug store in Riverside. As defendant drove the group in a silver car, defendant made a sarcastic joke that the owner of the vehicle was dead. The five went to a motel to do drugs. The friend noticed a bloody cut on defendant's finger that was wrapped up. Defendant repeatedly made statements to the group about having killed someone.
Later that same day on May 16, 2017, officers located the victim's vehicle at a motel. As the vehicle left the motel, officers followed the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle, however, sped off and a pursuit ensued through winding canyons. At one point, officers saw a passenger jump out of the car. After the vehicle eventually stopped, defendant, who was the driver of the vehicle, was taken into custody. The victim's stolen items were found in defendant's possession. Inside the car, officers discovered a white tank top with blood and two cell phones, one of which was the victim's.
The passengers informed the officers that they had yelled at defendant to stop or slow down the vehicle as it was being pursued, but he refused. One of the passengers also stated that during the pursuit, defendant had asserted that "he was in big trouble" and "was going to get the electric chair." All four passengers stated that they had been afraid while in the vehicle.
On August 5, 2020, in a plea to the court, defendant pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a); count 1); one count of willfully evading peace officers (Veh. Code, § 2800.2; count 2); four counts of kidnapping (Pen. Code, § 207, subd. (a); counts 3-6); and four counts of false imprisonment by violence (Pen. Code, § 236; counts 7-10). Defendant also admitted that he personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, to wit, a knife (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)) in the commission of the murder. He further admitted that he had suffered two prior strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (c) & (e)(2)(A), 1170.12, subd. (c)(2)(A)) and two prior serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)). The sentence was left open.
Prior to pleading guilty, defendant executed a felony plea form. The trial court went over the plea form with defendant. In response to the trial court's query, defendant indicated that he had carefully gone over the plea form with his attorney and that he understood everything on the plea form. The trial court also informed defendant of his constitutional rights, the consequences of pleading guilty, and the negotiated plea agreement. Defendant indicated to the court that he understood his rights, consequences of the plea, and the plea agreement. Defendant also acknowledged that he had initialed and signed the plea form. The parties stipulated to the preliminary hearing transcript as the factual basis for the plea. After directly examining defendant, the court found that defendant had knowingly and voluntarily entered the plea and that there was a factual basis for his plea.
The probation department filed two pre-plea probation reports, detailing the factual background and defendant's background. Both noted that defendant was 32 years old at the time, had severe mental health issues, and a significant alcohol and methamphetamine problem. A supplemental report was prepared after defendant pleaded guilty. The probation officer recommended that defendant be sentenced to a total determinate term of 11 years and an indeterminate sentence of 201 years to life.
On September 14, 2020, the People filed its sentencing brief. The People argued that defendant should be sentenced to an indeterminate term of 175 years to life plus a determinate term of 57 years.
On October 1, 2020, defendant filed a motion to strike his prior strike convictions. He argued that his criminal history was relatively insignificant, he was young when he committed the prior strike offense of first degree burglary, and he would still receive a significant sentence. The People filed opposition to defendant's motion to strike.
The sentencing hearing was held on October 2, 2020. After the trial court denied defendant's motion to strike his prior strike convictions, the court sentenced defendant to an indeterminate term of 100 years to life, plus a determinate term of seven years as follows: 75 years to life on count 1 for the first degree murder; a consecutive term of 25 years to life on count 3 for one of the kidnappings; a consecutive term of six years on count 2 for evading peace officers; and a consecutive term of one year for the knife use enhancement. The court imposed concurrent sentences on the other three kidnapping counts and stayed punishment on the false imprisonment counts pursuant to section 654. The court struck the two five-year prior serious felony convictions and awarded defendant 1,236 days of actual presentence custody credits. The court ordered defendant to pay a $300 restitution fine (Pen. Code, § 1202.4), $400 in court operations fees (Pen. Code, § 1465.8), and $300 in criminal conviction assessment fees (Gov. Code, § 70373), and stayed a $300 parole revocation fine (Pen. Code, § 1202.45).
On October 13, 2020, defendant filed a timely notice of appeal based on the sentence. He did not request a certificate of probable cause.
III
DISCUSSION
After defendant appealed, upon his request, this court appointed counsel to represent him on appeal. Counsel has filed a brief under the authority of People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende) and Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738 (Anders), setting forth a statement of the case, a summary of the facts and potential arguable issues, and requesting this court to conduct an independent review of the record.
We offered defendant an opportunity to file a personal supplemental brief, but he has not done so.
An appellate court conducts a review of the entire record to determine whether the record reveals any issues which, if resolved favorably to defendant, would result in reversal or modification of the judgment. (Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d at pp. 441-442; People v. Feggans (1967) 67 Cal.2d 444, 447-448; Anders, supra, 386 U.S. at p. 744; see People v. Johnson (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 106, 109-112.)
Pursuant to the mandate of People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, we have independently reviewed the entire record for potential error and find no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant.
IV
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
CODRINGTON
Acting P. J. We concur: SLOUGH
J. RAPHAEL
J.