People v. Elwell CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2023, appellant and defendant Aaron Paul Elwell (appellant) pleaded no contest to assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and possession of methamphetamine while armed with a loaded and operable firearm, and admitted prior conviction allegations. He was sentenced to the second strike term of 25 years in prison. On appeal, appellate counsel filed a brief that summarized the facts with citations to the record, raised no issues, and asked this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Appellant filed a letter brief. We review his contentions and affirm the judgment.

FACTS1

At 7:40 p.m. on September 20, 2021, Bakersfield Police Officer Daniel Corona responded to the gas station on Brundage Lane on the report of a possible shooting. He spoke to Lewis Brewer, who reported that he heard one gunshot coming from the gas station. After the gunshot, Brewer saw “a vehicle traveling southbound on South H Street and an additional vehicle speeding away eastbound from the [gas station] parking lot and collide” into the first vehicle. Corona found one nine-millimeter spent casing near a gas pump. On September 22, 2021, Officer Steven…