Sandoval
People v. Sandoval
Opinion
Opinion
Aaron, J.
I.
INTRODUCTION
Steven Sandoval, Jr., pled guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (a)), and admitted having incurred a prior serious felony conviction (§§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 668, 1192.7, subd. (c)) and a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1192.7, subd. (c)(23)), pursuant to a plea agreement that provided for a stipulated sentence of 27 years in state prison. Before he was sentenced, Sandoval filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that his plea had not been a product of his own free will. Sandoval claimed that one of his codefendants had threatened to harm him in prison if he refused to plead guilty, and that the trial judge had improperly pressured him to plead guilty. The trial court denied Sandoval’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea and sentenced him to 27 years in prison.
On appeal, Sandoval claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Sandoval also contends that the trial court erred in sentencing him pursuant to the “Three Strikes” law because the People did not allege in an information that he had suffered a prior strike conviction.