People v. Gomez CA4/2

INTRODUCTION

In 1995, defendant and appellant Ricarda Gomez pled guilty to one count of

possession for sale of cocaine base. (Health & Saf. Code, former § 11351.5, count 1.) A

trial court placed her on formal probation for a period of three years, with 180 days in

county jail. On January 1, 2017, Penal Code1 section 1473.7 went into effect. (Stats.

2016, ch. 739, § 1.) It permits a defendant to challenge a conviction based on a guilty

plea where prejudicial error affected the defendant’s ability to understand the

immigration consequences of the plea. (Pen. Code, § 1473.7.) In 2018, defendant filed a

motion to vacate her conviction under Penal Code sections 1016.5 and 1473.7. The court

denied the motion.

On appeal, defendant contends the court erred in denying her motion to vacate her

conviction. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

A confidential reliable informant advised the police that subjects by the names of

Rosa and Toto were selling cocaine from their residence. The informant agreed to make

1 All further statutory references will be to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

The factual background is taken from the probation officer’s report…