People v. Villa CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 1997, appellant and defendant Jesse Manuel Villa was convicted after a jury trial of first degree residential burglary (Pen. Code, § 459),1 and the jury found true the prior conviction allegations. He was sentenced to the third strike term of 25 years to life. In 2020, defendant filed a petition for resentencing based on People v. Delgado (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1059 (Delgado) and asserted there was insufficient evidence that his prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon were serious felonies and strikes. The superior court denied the petition. On appeal, 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.) We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

Defendant was arrested for committing a residential burglary in April 1996 and taking over $16,000 in cash that was hidden in the resident’s bedroom. The burglary occurred when the resident left the country. The resident loaned cash to defendant on previous occasions. Defendant was seen with large amounts of cash after the burglary, and claimed he…