People v. Whitehead CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Jerry Ray Von Whitehead pleaded no contest to carjacking (Pen. Code, § 215, subd. (a))1 and was sentenced to five years in prison. His appellate counsel has filed a brief which 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 will affirm.

FACTS2

On the afternoon of March 25, 2013, Michael Servantes went to “Sierra’s” house near First and McKinley in Fresno. He had arranged to receive a massage from her.3 At Sierra’s request, he brought soft drinks and fast food. Sierra invited Servantes into the bedroom, and they spent 45 minutes together. Sierra poured some vodka into the soft drink and gave it to Servantes. Servantes became lightheaded after he drank it and thought Sierra might have put something else in the soda besides vodka. When Servantes and Sierra were in the bedroom, Sierra left twice and said she was going to check on something. When she returned the second time, Servantes heard banging on the front door. He looked through a window and saw some young men outside. Sierra went to the door, spoke to one of the…