Quiles

Jason Quiles appeals from a judgment of conviction and sentence imposed after a jury convicted him of multiple crimes. He contends (1) his constitutional rights were violated when the court imposed the upper term of sentence based on his prior juvenile adjudications; (2) testimony that Quiles told a nurse he was going to “have one of the witnesses smacked” improperly tainted the case against him; (3) his defense attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to object to the prosecutor’s closing argument; and (4) the court should have severed a grand theft charge from his more serious charges.

In the published portion of our opinion, we conclude that the trial court did not err in imposing the upper term of sentence. Prior juvenile adjudications may be used in imposing the upper term under California Rules of Court, rule 4.421(b)(2). In evaluating whether juvenile adjudications are of increasing seriousness, the court may consider the elements of the respective offenses. In the unpublished portion of our opinion, we conclude that the remainder of Quiles’s contentions lack merit. We will affirm the judgment.

I. Facts and Procedural History

A second…