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People v. Hunwardsen

California Court of Appeals, Sixth District
Sep 30, 2008
No. H032849 (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 30, 2008)

Opinion


THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. SHAWN ALLEN HUNWARDSEN, Defendant and Appellant. H032849 California Court of Appeal, Sixth District September 30, 2008

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

Santa Clara County Super. Ct. No. CC780821

Duffy, J.

In exchange for a promise of a four-year prison sentence, defendant Shawn Allen Hunwardsen pleaded no contest to one count of robbery in violation of Penal Code section 211 and he admitted a prior strike. (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)/1170.12.) He was then sentenced to four years per the indicated sentence. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal and we affirm the judgment.

Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

We take the facts from the transcript of the preliminary hearing and the probation report.

During the early evening of September 17, 2007, 54-year-old Gloria Baker was loading her groceries that she had just purchased into the trunk of her car, which was parked in the shopping center parking lot in front of Whole Foods in Campbell. Her purse was on her right arm while she loaded the groceries into her car. She suddenly felt a tug on her purse from behind, which she initially thought was caused by someone she knew playing around with her.

Then she realized that a man was tugging on her purse in an effort to steal it and she hung onto it tightly, putting up a struggle and landing on the ground. She did not see the man’s face as she struggled. The man dragged her across the pavement and struck her in the face. At some point after she was hit in the face, she let go of her purse. She saw the man, who was barefoot, from behind running away towards a dark colored car that appeared to be waiting for him. The car was running but not moving. Its driver, a female, was screaming at the man to get in the car. When he did, the car began to move but its path was temporarily blocked by two other cars in the parking lot. Baker got up from the ground and ran towards the car. She was able to see the car’s license plate and she memorized its number.

A woman who had been in her nearby car when Baker was attacked heard Baker screaming and she came over to Baker to see if she was alright. By that point, the man was running toward the dark car and like Baker, the woman saw the man get into the waiting car and heard the female driver screaming for him to do so. Baker saw a second woman who was also nearby and she asked her to write down the car’s license plate that Baker had momentarily committed to memory. The dark car then peeled out onto the street from the parking lot, almost causing an accident. When Baker returned to her car, she noticed a pair of men’s slippers on the ground near her car that had not been there before the felonious encounter. Baker suffered a large bruise to her face and scratches on her body as a result of the attack.

Police were called and provided with the license plate of the car that had driven away with Gloria Baker’s attacker inside. Police connected the car to a residence in San Jose, which they staked out later that night to see if the car would drive up, which it did. After the car’s two inhabitants, a man later identified as defendant and a woman, went into the house, police brought them and two others who had been in the house outside. The woman who had been driving and owned the car told police that she had been out all day with the car and defendant. She was very talkative and cooperative and she appeared to be very nervous and scared. She told police that defendant had been acting strangely and that she didn’t know what he had been up to when he got into her car in the Whole Foods parking lot. Police also talked to defendant and he gave them a false name. When defendant was taken into custody, a search of his person revealed that he had Baker’s driver’s license and credit cards in his possession.

Defendant was charged by information with one count of second-degree robbery in violation of sections 211-212.5, subdivision (c). The information further alleged that while he was a juvenile, he had suffered two prior strike adjudications within the meaning of sections 667, subdivisions (b)-(i) and 1170.12, both attempted murder with personal and intentional discharge of a firearm. After a preliminary hearing, defendant was held to answer.

On January 30, 2008, defendant entered into a plea agreement by which he pleaded no contest to the robbery and admitted one prior strike in exchange for a four-year prison term. The other prior strike was dismissed on the People’s motion in the interests of justice. Before pleading no contest and admitting the remaining prior strike, defendant was advised of and waived his constitutional rights to a jury trial, to present a defense, to confrontation, and against self-incrimination. He was also advised of the consequences of his plea. He further confirmed that no promises other than the four-year prison term were given in exchange for his plea, for which counsel stipulated and the court found a factual basis based on the preliminary hearing transcript, police reports, and the fact that defendant’s DNA was not excluded from one of the slippers left at the robbery scene.

Defendant was later sentenced to a four-year prison term, with credit for time served. The court also imposed fines and fees, including a restitution fund fine of $800 with a parole revocation fine in like amount imposed but suspended. The court declined to assess attorney fees. Defendant timely appealed.

Section 213, subdivision (a)(2), provides that second degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment for two, three, or five years. It appears that defendant’s sentence was actually the lower term of two years, doubled for the prior strike.

Defendant in pro per initially challenged the validity of his plea but the court denied a certificate of probable cause. He then filed through counsel an amended notice of appeal, based solely on grounds arising after entry of the plea or involving any search and seizure, for which a certificate of probable cause is not required under rule 8.304(b)(4) of the California Rules of Court.

DISCUSSION

We appointed counsel to represent defendant in this court. Appointed counsel filed an opening brief that stated the case and the facts but raised no specific issues. We notified defendant of his right to submit written argument on his own behalf within 30 days and counsel provided him with the record. This period has elapsed and we have received no written argument from defendant.

We have reviewed the entire record under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. Based upon this review, we have concluded that there is no arguable issue on appeal.

DISPOSITION

The judgment is affirmed.

WE CONCUR: Bamattre-Manoukian, Acting P.J., Mihara, J.


Summaries of

People v. Hunwardsen

California Court of Appeals, Sixth District
Sep 30, 2008
No. H032849 (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 30, 2008)
Case details for

People v. Hunwardsen

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. SHAWN ALLEN HUNWARDSEN, Defendant…

Court:California Court of Appeals, Sixth District

Date published: Sep 30, 2008

Citations

No. H032849 (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 30, 2008)