People v. Payton CA1/3

BACKGROUND

In 2004, Payton pled no contest to felony criminal threats. (Pen. Code, § 422, undesignated statutory references are to this code.) Pursuant to a plea agreement, Payton received a stipulated two-year prison term to run 1 concurrent with any parole violation sentence. Prior to entering his plea and while represented by counsel, Payton signed a form waiving his right to a trial. He initialed several boxes noting he freely and voluntarily gave up that right. Relevant here, he acknowledged that increased penalties for future offenses and presumptive prison time were consequences of his plea. He thereafter completed his sentence. In 2012, following a jury trial, Payton was convicted of robbery (§ 211) and arson (§ 451, subd. (d)). The trial court sentenced Payton to 61 years to life, which included a five-year prior strike enhancement for his 2004 offense. (§ 667, subd. (a)(1).) In April 2022, Payton filed a motion to vacate his plea for his 2004 offense under section 1473.6, which authorizes vacating a judgment of conviction based on newly discovered evidence under certain circumstances. He argued the prosecutor failed to demonstrate he knowingly and intelligently waived…