People v. Martinez CA1/5

BACKGROUND

In July 2019, the Sonoma County District Attorney filed an information charging appellant with oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger (§ 288.7, subd. (b); counts 1 & 3), forcible lewd act on a child (§ 288, subd. (b)(1); counts 2, 4, 5, 6, & 10), and lewd act on a child

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1 (§ 288, subd. (a); counts 7, 8, & 9). The information was later amended to add an additional lewd act charge (§ 288, subd. (a); count 11).2 In March 2020, pursuant to an agreement, appellant pleaded no contest to counts 1 and 11, with an agreed sentence of 15 years to life for count 1 and a concurrent sentence on count 11. In February 2021, the public defender was appointed to represent appellant in a possible motion to withdraw his plea. In March, the public defender declared doubt as to appellant’s competence and criminal proceedings were suspended pursuant to section 1368. The trial court referred appellant for an expert competency evaluation. The evaluator opined in a report that appellant was not competent and the prosecution retained a second expert to perform another evaluation. The second…