People v. Rivas CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant and defendant Connie Louise Rivas has appealed from the superior court’s finding that she was not competent to stand trial. On appeal, her appellate counsel has 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).) We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 9, 2018, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court of Fresno County charging defendant with committing the following offenses on or about January 9, 2018: count 1, false personation of L.J. (Pen. Code, §529, subd. (a)(3));1 and count 2, misdemeanor petty theft at J.C. Penny’s department store (§ 484, subd. (a)), with one prior strike conviction. On July 30, 2018, defendant pleaded not guilty, and the court issued and served her with a criminal protective order pursuant to section 136.2, prohibiting contact with

L.J.

Thereafter, defendant was on pretrial release, failed to appear, and was remanded on bench warrants throughout 2018 and 2019. Competency proceedings On June 20, 2019, the court convened a hearing on the instant case and defendant’s six other…