People v. Brady CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Caleb Andrew Brady pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, admitted a gang enhancement, and was sentenced to the stipulated term of nine years pursuant to a negotiated disposition. 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 April 2, 2014, we invited defendant to submit additional briefing. Defendant has filed a letter brief and raises several issues: He was intoxicated when he confessed to the crime; the court improperly denied his motion to discharge his appointed counsel pursuant to People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118 (Marsden); and the court and his attorney forced him to plead guilty. We will address these contentions and affirm.

FACTS

On September 12, 2012, Officer Mark Carrillo responded to Grant Street in Hanford and found Juan Munoz lying in a significant amount of blood. Munoz had been stabbed under his left arm, about eight inches below his armpit. The laceration was about half an inch long, and it was actively bleeding. Munoz was…