People v. Cooper CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Stacey Edward Cooper pleaded no contest to dissuading a victim/witness of a crime (Pen. Code, § 136.1, subd. (b)(1)),1 and was sentenced to two

* Before Gomes, Acting P.J., Kane, J. and Poochigian, J. All further statutory citations are to the Penal Code. years, after the court found he violated the terms of the negotiated disposition and his waiver pursuant to People v. Cruz (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1247 (Cruz). On appeal, his appellate counsel 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).) By letter on May 5, 2014, we invited defendant to submit additional briefing. Defendant has filed a letter brief and complains the court improperly found he violated the Cruz waiver and sentenced him to prison. We affirm.

FACTS2

On September 4, 2013,3 officers responded to defendant’s residence based on a report of a domestic dispute between defendant and Danielle V. (Danielle). Danielle told the officers that defendant accused her of sleeping with another man, and they had an altercation in the bedroom. She did not…