People v. Vasquez CA5

INTRODUCTION

On July 19, 2012, appellants Richard Vasquez, Jr. (Vasquez) and Sheila Marie Escobar were charged in the stabbing death of Brandon Cruz.1 Vasquez was charged with one count of murder (count 3; Pen. Code,2 § 187, subd. (a)), while Escobar was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon (count 4; § 245, subd. (a)). Prior to preliminary examinations, the charge against Vasquez was amended to one count of voluntary manslaughter (§ 192, subd. (a)). Vasquez entered a plea of no contest, and was sentenced to the upper term of 11 years in prison. In exchange for a dismissal of the assault charge, Escobar entered a plea of no contest to one count of being an accessory after the fact to voluntary manslaughter (§ 32), and was sentenced to the middle term of two years in County Jail. On appeal, Vasquez argues that the trial court erred by sentencing him to the upper term of 11 years rather than the middle term of six years, while Escobar argues that (1) the trial court erred by denying Escobar’s request for probation, and (2) that the trial court erred by declining to impose a split sentence on Escobar. None of these arguments are persuasive, and the judgments will be…