Opinion
F042756.
10-24-2003
In re JUSTIN S., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JUSTIN S., Defendant and Appellant.
Carol A. Koenig, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General, and Carlos A. Martinez, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINION
THE COURT
In his second appearance before the juvenile court, Justin admitted one allegation of an amended petition alleging conspiracy to commit robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 212.5, subd. (c)), and additional allegations of robbery and burglary were dismissed. The court adjudged Justin a ward of the court (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602), found the offense to be a felony, committed him to the California Youth Authority (CYA), correctly calculated the five-year maximum period of confinement (Pen. Code, § 213, subd. (a)(2)), awarded credit for 48 days served, and imposed appropriate fines and victim restitution. This appeal followed.
FACTS
On February 5, 2002, 15-year-old Justin and his 13-year-old accomplice, Bryan, decided to rob a photo store where Justin had worked briefly. Justin planned to stab the owner, drag his body behind a dumpster at the store, and take the owners car. The boys entered the store, secured the door, and closed the blinds. Justin, brandishing a stick and a knife, told the owner to get on the floor. When the owner protested, Justin told him that Bryan had a gun. Justin repeatedly asked the owner for his keys. The owner fled to the bathroom, locked the door, and called 911. The boys took $ 19 from a desk and $20 in personal belongings. Justin left to find drugs; Bryan went home.
Justin told officers that when he smokes "crystal" he needs money so he robs people. He had run away from two camp settings and a rehabilitation center, where he had been committed for earlier offenses, because he needed drugs. While in custody he used Ritalin from other wards to sustain his drug habit.
In committing Justin, the court noted that he was an appropriate candidate for CYA given his age, criminal sophistication, willingness to use force and weapons, and lack of compliance with prior court orders. Local programs were inappropriate to address Justins needs because one involved an open setting and the other was only four months duration. Further, Justin had been tried on probation in the custody of his mother, in juvenile hall, in two county camps, and a rehabilitation facility and had failed to reform.
DISCUSSION
Appellants appointed counsel filed an opening brief, which raised no issues and asked that this court independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) We invited appellant to file a personal brief; he has not done so.
Our independent review of the record failed to disclose any reasonably arguable issues. A reasonably arguable issue is one that has "a reasonable potential for success" and one that, if resolved favorably to the appellant, will result in reversal or modification of the judgment. (People v. Johnson (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 106, 109.)
The judgment is affirmed. --------------- Notes: Before Vartabedian, Acting P.J., Wiseman, J., and Levy, J.