Opinion
B232008
12-16-2011
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. BRANDON DUCKETT, Defendant and Appellant.
Tanya Dellaca, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA111770)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Roger Ito, Judge. Affirmed.
Tanya Dellaca, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent
Brandon Duckett appeals from his conviction of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. We appointed counsel to represent Duckett in this matter. After examining the record, counsel filed a "Wende" brief raising no issues on appeal and requesting that we independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) We directed appointed counsel to immediately send the record on this appeal and a copy of the opening brief to Duckett and notified Duckett that within 30 days from the date of the notice he could submit by brief or letter any grounds of appeal, contentions or argument he wished us to consider. We received no response from Duckett.
Duckett did, however, file a "Petition For Writ Of Habeas Corpus And/Or Application For Relief From Default Re: Notice Of Appeal" in which he contended that the trial court denied him his rights to a jury trial and to confront the witnesses against him. We discuss those contentions below. We considered the writ petition as an application for relief from filing a late notice of appeal and granted the application.
We have examined the entire record and are satisfied that Duckett's attorney has fully complied with her responsibilities and that no arguable issue exists. (People v. Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d at p. 441.) We set out below a brief description of the facts and procedural history of the case, the crime of which Duckett was convicted, and the punishment imposed. (People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 110.)
A jury convicted Duckett of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and the court sentenced him to a term of 16 months (one-third the midterm doubled under the "Three Strikes" law).
The case was tried to the court after Duckett waived his right to a jury trial. Evidence at the trial included a transcript of the testimony at a section 1538.5 hearing brought by his co-defendant and his brother, Randon. Duckett testified, in addition to the investigating officers and Duckett's mother and father. Duckett agreed to the use of the testimony in the hearing transcript after the court explained to him that he was waiving his right of confrontation as to that testimony. He stipulated to a prior felony conviction.
The evidence showed that two deputy sheriffs stopped Duckett for speeding and driving a car with a cracked windshield and expired registration. Deputy Peadar Sullivan questioned Duckett while his partner, Deputy Oscar Calderon, interviewed Duckett's passenger, his brother Randon. Duckett told Sullivan that he was on parole. Sullivan conducted a pat down search and placed Duckett in the backseat of the patrol car. Meanwhile, Randon told Deputy Calderon that he had a gun hidden under the mattress of his bed at his mother's house, that he had purchased the gun on "the streets" in Compton and that he thought it was probably "hot." Because Duckett and Randon gave conflicting answers about whether Duckett lived at his mother's house or at his grandmother's house, the officers decided to conduct a parole compliance search of both residences. At the home of Duckett's mother the deputies found a gun under a mattress in a bedroom. They also found a gun in a dresser drawer in the bedroom. In the drawer they found a wallet containing Duckett's identification, a Social Security card and a bank debit card as well as a bank statement addressed to Duckett. Duckett had a key to his mother's house on his key ring.
Based on this evidence the trial court reasonably concluded that Duckett was in possession of the gun found in the bedroom dresser.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
ROTHSCHILD, J. We concur:
MALLANO, P. J.
CHANEY, J.