Blomdahl

Defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to second degree robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211/212.5, subd. (b)—count l) and forgery of an access card transaction (§ 484f, subd. (2)—count 2), and admitted four prior state prison commitments (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). Following the denial of defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea, he was sentenced to state prison for a total term of 10 years, 8 months. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his plea, he was denied effective assistance of counsel, and sentencing error. We will affirm the convictions and modify the sentence.

Procedural Background

The facts underlying defendant’s convictions are not pertinent to the issues raised on appeal and are omitted. Relevant procedural and other matters are included in the discussion that follows.

On October 2, 1991, at 11 a.m., defendant, represented by Deputy Public Defender Dana Kinnison, appeared in the municipal court for his preliminary hearing and evidence was presented by the prosecution. The hearing was recessed until 1:30 that afternoon at which time defendant entered a nolo contendere plea pursuant to section 859a to the…