Opinion
H045704
09-12-2019
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JORGE LUIS PEREZ, Defendant and Appellant.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. (Santa Clara County Super. Ct. No. C175452
In this appeal defendant Jorge Luis Perez seeks review of a restitution order imposed after his conviction by plea to vehicle theft and buying or receiving a stolen motor vehicle. The charges arose from the theft of five cars from a Hertz Rent-A-Car (Hertz) facility in Santa Clara between December 12 and 13, 2016. Defendant pleaded no contest to counts 1 and 3 of the consolidated information, each charging "driving and taking" a vehicle, with a prior conviction of vehicle theft, in violation of Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a), and Penal Code section 666.5. Defendant also pleaded no contest to count 13, possession of a stolen vehicle, in violation of section 496d, with a prior felony conviction of violating Vehicle Code section 10851. Count 6 (vehicle theft with a prior) and count 15 (receiving a stolen vehicle with a prior) were dismissed subject to a Harvey stipulation, while count 14 (assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, in violation of section 245, subdivision (c)) and count 16 (possession of a controlled substance for sale, in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11378) were dismissed without such a waiver. Defendant also agreed to a sentence of six years eight months: Four years were to be served in custody, followed by a supervision period of two years eight months. The court sentenced defendant in accordance with the plea agreement.
All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.
People v. Harvey (1979) 25 Cal.3d 754. --------
As part of his plea, defendant affirmed that he understood that he would be ordered to pay restitution for any victim's losses resulting from his conduct. Hertz submitted a request for $11,287.98, of which $3,984.44 was for damage to the company's fence and the remainder for damage to the two cars defendant had driven. Defense counsel objected on the ground that defendant "was found to merely have driven the car," not to have committed the initial burglary of the facility or the theft of the vehicles. Consequently, counsel argued, there was no nexus between defendant's convictions of violating Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a), and the damage caused by the burglary and theft.
The district attorney pointed out, however, that in counts 1, 3, and 6 the information had charged, and defendant had admitted, "not only the driving of the vehicle[s] but the taking." The court agreed, observing that "video surveillance shows that three of the stolen cars were driving into the garage of the defendant's girlfriend's apartment complex within two and a half hours from the taking from the Hertz rental car facility in the middle of the night. And I think that based on that strong circumstantial evidence, that the defendant was involved in the taking that that is a sufficient nexus. This isn't a case where the defendant was seen driving one of the cars a week later and they had just purchased it from somebody in a parking lot." Accordingly, the court rejected defendant's restitution challenge and ordered defendant to pay the requested amount, jointly and severally with his codefendant.
Appointed appellate counsel has filed an opening brief that states the case and the facts but raises no issues. Defendant was notified of his right to submit written argument on his own behalf but has not availed himself of that opportunity. Pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 and People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 123-124, we have carefully reviewed the entire record and have concluded that there are no arguable issues on appeal.
The judgment is affirmed.
/s/_________
ELIA, ACTING P. J. WE CONCUR: /s/_________
BAMATTRE-MANOUKIAN, J. /s/_________
MIHARA, J.