People v. Gomez-Ortiz CA4/3

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant Juan Eduardo Gomez-Ortiz challenges the denial of his motion to vacate a judgment of conviction (based on a guilty plea) pursuant to Penal Code section 1473.6 (all undesignated statutory references are to this code unless otherwise specified). The appeal also seeks our independent review of the trial court’s ruling on a supporting 1 Pitchess motion for discovery of a former sheriff deputy’s personnel records. The underlying conviction involves an attempted robbery where the victim was hospitalized. The matter was investigated by the former deputy, who filed a report falsely stating pictures of the victim’s injuries had been booked as investigative evidence. Pursuant to a plea agreement, appellant pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, assault likely to cause great bodily injury, and admitted inflicting great bodily injury. The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and its 2017 judgment ordered appellant to serve 180 days in county jail and three years probation. In 2019, Orange County law enforcement agencies wrote two letters regarding evidence booking failures that led appellant to file his underlying 2020 vacatur motion as well as the supporting…