People v. Mercado CA1/4

Background On April 27, 2020, around 6:45 a.m., defendant’s mother called the police asking for help because defendant, her son, had broken into her home. She reported that defendant was yelling and breaking things inside her home. When defendant was detained and searched, the police officers found multiple knives and a throwing star or shuriken. Based on these events, defendant was charged with one count of first degree burglary (Pen. Code,2 § 460, subd. (a)) and one count of possession of a shuriken (§ 22410). In June 2020, defendant was found incompetent to stand trial and proceedings were suspended until his competence was restored in January 2021. On February 24, 2021, defendant pled guilty to first degree burglary. In exchange for his guilty plea, the prosecution dismissed the weapon charge, stipulated to a two-year sentence, and agreed to release defendant until sentencing provided that he enter a Cruz waiver stating that he could be sentenced beyond the two-year stipulated term if he did not appear at his sentencing hearing. On April 5, defendant did not appear for sentencing and the court issued a bench warrant. Defendant was arrested on April 8 on the warrant, then…