People v. Johnson CA5

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Matthew Johnson appeals from his negotiated plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to committing first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) of a fellow inmate and he admitted that he had previously been convicted of first degree murder (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(2)) and that he had suffered a prior strike conviction. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) In exchange for his plea, the remaining charges, enhancements, and allegations were dismissed. He was sentenced per the terms of the plea agreement to life without the possibility of parole to be served consecutive to his present life sentence. On appeal, appointed counsel for defendant asked this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) Defendant did not file a supplemental brief. After independently reviewing the record, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In 2020, defendant was charged with being a person undergoing a life sentence who, with malice aforethought, committed an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument (§ 4500; count 1). It was further alleged that…