Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kings County No. 06CM0053. James T. LaPorte, Judge.
Gordon S. Brownell, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINION
Before Vartabedian, Acting P.J., Wiseman, J., Cornell, J.
In Kings County Superior Court Case No. 06CM0053 (case No. 053), on February 23, 2006, appellant Mauro Lule Gonzalez pled guilty to transportation of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379, subd. (a)), a felony, and admitted an enhancement allegation under section 11370.2, subdivision (c) that he had suffered a prior conviction of violating section 11379. On March 23, 2006, the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed appellant on probation for three years pursuant to Proposition 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (Pen. Code, § 1210 et seq.).
Except as otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to Health and Safety the Code.
On May 1, 2006, a petition to revoke appellant’s probation was filed, alleging that appellant had violated conditions of probation by failing to notify the probation officer that he had changed his address and failing to report to his probation officer as directed; on May 30, 2006, the court summarily revoked appellant’s probation; and on September 18, 2006, appellant admitted the probation violation allegations.
In Kings County Superior Court Case No. 06CM3981 (case No. 981), on November 29, 2006, a jury convicted appellant of possession of methamphetamine (§ 11377, subd. (a)), a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia (§ 11364), a misdemeanor, and in a separate proceeding appellant admitted allegations that he had served two separate prison terms for prior felony convictions (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)).
On January 4, 2007, at a sentencing hearing covering both cases, the court imposed a prison term of nine years eight months, consisting of the following: in case No. 053, the four-year upper term on the substantive offense and three years on the section 11370.2 enhancement; and in case No. 981, eight months on the section 11364 conviction, representing one-third of the middle term on that offense, and one year on each of the two prior prison term enhancements. On appellant’s misdemeanor conviction, the court imposed a sentence of 15 days and awarded appellant credit for time served.
Appellant’s appointed appellate counsel has filed an opening brief which summarizes the pertinent facts, with citations to the record, raises no issues, and asks that this court independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Appellant has not responded to this court’s invitation to submit additional briefing.
FACTS
Case No. 053
The report of the probation officer filed October 6, 2006, indicates the following: On January 8, 2006, Kings County Deputy Sheriff T. Lopes effected the stop of a vehicle in which appellant was a passenger. Upon learning that there was an outstanding warrant for appellant’s arrest, the deputy asked appellant to step out of the vehicle. Appellant complied, and shortly thereafter Deputy Lopes found, on the seat where appellant had been sitting, a plastic bag containing a “crystal-like substance” that the deputy suspected was methamphetamine. Appellant was subsequently transported to the Kings County Jail and placed in a holding cell, at which time appellant removed “from inside his pants” two plastic baggies, and “attempted to dispose of them.” Both baggies contained a “crystal-like substance” which, according to a “presumptive test,” contained methamphetamine.
Case No. 981
At approximately noon on September 10, 2006, a security guard at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino outside Lemoore observed appellant slouched over in the back seat of a car parked in the casino parking lot. The guard noticed a glass smoking pipe in appellant’s shirt pocket. The guard called another security guard who arrived on the scene and asked appellant to empty his pockets on the trunk of the car. Appellant complied, and the items he removed from his pockets included (1) a glass smoking pipe and (2) a rolled up tissue, approximately four inches long and one inch in diameter, inside of which was a plastic bindle containing a white substance. The second guard had his dispatcher call the Kings County Sheriff’s Department, and shortly thereafter a deputy arrived on the scene and took possession of the bindle and two pipes.
The pipes were of the kind used for smoking methamphetamine. The substance in the bindle was subjected to chemical testing which revealed that it contained methamphetamine, in a usable amount.
DISCUSSION
Following independent review of the record, we have concluded that no reasonably arguable legal or factual issues exist.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.