Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Super. Ct. No. KA075364 Daniel J. Buckley, Judge. Appeal dismissed.
William J. Capriola, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
PERLUSS, P. J.
Jerry Tapia heard a loud crash from inside his home and discovered a truck had crashed into his parked car. After confronting the driver about the collision, Tapia was stabbed in the back by Jason Paul DeLeon, one of four passengers in the truck. DeLeon was charged by information with one count of attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder, with special allegations he had personally inflicted great bodily injury on Tapia and had used a deadly weapon to commit the offense.
A consolidated amended information was subsequently filed adding four codefendants without altering the charge and allegations against DeLeon.
Appearing with private counsel, DeLeon entered a negotiated plea of no contest to attempted murder and admitted the great bodily injury and weapon enhancements in exchange for an aggregated state prison term of 13 years.
The record of the plea hearing establishes DeLeon was advised of and waived his constitutional rights and was advised of and acknowledged he understood the consequences of his plea. DeLeon stated he understood he was to receive a state prison sentence of 13 years as a result of his plea. DeLeon told the court he had been given sufficient time to confer with counsel and believed it was in his best interests to accept the plea agreement. The record reflects DeLeon had the opportunity during the plea hearing to speak with counsel about the plea agreement.
In accordance with the plea agreement, DeLeon was sentenced to an aggregated state prison term of 13 years, consisting of the upper term of nine years for attempted murder, plus three years for the great bodily injury enhancement and one year for the weapon enhancement. The court ordered DeLeon to pay a $20 security fee and a $200 restitution fine and retained jurisdiction over the amount of restitution owed to victim Tapia. A parole revocation fine was imposed and suspended pursuant to Penal Code section 1202.45. The court struck the premeditation allegation on the People’s motion. DeLeon was awarded 331 days of presentence credit (288 actual days and 43 days of conduct credit).
DeLeon filed a timely notice of appeal. His request for a certificate of probable cause was denied. We appointed counsel to represent him on appeal. After an examination of the record, counsel filed an “Opening Brief” in which no issues were raised. On August 28, 2007 we advised DeLeon he had 30 days within which to personally submit any contentions or issues he wished us to consider. No response has been received to date.
We have examined the entire record and are satisfied that DeLeon’s attorney has fully complied with the responsibilities of counsel and no arguable issues exist. (Smith v. Robbins (2000) 528 U.S. 259, 277-284 [120 S.Ct. 746, 145 L.Ed.2d 756]; People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 112-113; People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436, 441.)
A criminal defendant who appeals following a plea of no contest or guilty without a certificate of probable cause can only challenge the denial of a motion to suppress evidence or raise grounds arising after the entry of the plea that do not affect its validity. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b).) In his request for a certificate of probable cause DeLeon contests the validity of his sentence imposed as part of his plea agreement by claiming it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Because DeLeon is, in substance, attacking the validity of his plea, his notice of appeal is inoperable; and the appeal must be dismissed. (Pen. Code, § 1237.5; see People v. Shelton (2006) 37 Cal.4th 759, 769-771; People v. Panizzon (1996) 13 Cal.4th 68, 79.)
The appeal is dismissed.
We concur: WOODS, J., ZELON, J.