People v. Toledo

The defendant was charged in an amended information filed by the district attorney of Tulare County, with the crime of forgery and with two prior convictions of burglary. He entered a plea of guilty, admitted the priors, waived the time for pronouncing -judgment and was sentenced on September 22, 1930, to imprisonment in the state penitentiary at Folsom. On October 1, 1930, he moved to set aside the judgment, and for permission to withdraw his plea of guilty and enter one of not guilty. After a hearing, the court denied the motion and this appeal is taken from this order, and also from the judgment originally rendered.

Appellant first contends that the evidence presented at the hearing does not support the order denying his motion for permission to change his plea. It is his position that, in any view of the case, certain statements made to him by the deputy district attorney prior to his plea of guilty, constitute such a threat as to conclusively show that the plea of guilty was made, not freely and voluntarily, but under duress and as a result of fear. In his own affidavit, which appellant introduced in support of this motion, the principal statement complained of is thus set…