Opinion
No. 79449-COA
11-09-2020
VICTOR MELENDEZ MONTELONGO, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondent.
ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE
Victor Melendez Montelongo appeals from a judgment of conviction entered pursuant to a guilty plea of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, burglary, and first-degree arson. Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County; Barry L. Breslow, Judge.
Montelongo claims for the first time on direct appeal that his guilty plea is invalid because it was coerced by the State's notice of intent to seek the death penalty. We decline to consider his claim because "a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus provides the exclusive remedy for a challenge to the validity of the guilty plea made after sentencing for persons in custody on the conviction being challenged." Harris v. State, 130 Nev. 435, 448, 329 P.3d 619, 628 (2014). Therefore, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.
/s/_________, C.J.
Gibbons /s/_________, J.
Tao /s/_________, J.
Bulla cc: Hon. Barry L. Breslow, District Judge
Law Office of Thomas L. Qualls, Ltd.
Attorney General/Carson City
Washoe County District Attorney
Washoe District Court Clerk