People v. Cortez CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Jose Daniel Cortez pleaded no contest to possession of a stolen vehicle (Pen. Code, § 496d, subd. (a)) and was sentenced to the stipulated second strike term of four years in prison. On appeal, his appellate counsel has filed a brief that summarizes the facts with citations to the record, raises no issues, and asks this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On or about November 3, 2012, defendant was found in possession of a stolen 1992 Honda Accord. On November 6, 2012, a felony complaint was filed which charged defendant and a codefendant with count I, possession of a stolen vehicle. Defendant was separately charged with count II, misdemeanor possession of burglary tools (Pen. Code, § 466). It was further alleged defendant had four prior strike convictions. On November 21, 2012, prior to the preliminary hearing, defendant pleaded no contest to possession of a stolen car and admitted the four prior strike convictions. The court granted the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss the charge against the codefendant. Defendant stipulated to a factual basis and…