Filed 2/25/21 P. v. Engelhardt CA2/8

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

KATHY M. ENGELHARDT,

Defendant and Appellant.

 B302657

 (Los Angeles County

 Super. Ct. No. BA252814)

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los 

Angeles County. Michael Garcia, Judge. Affirmed.

David R. Greifinger, under appointment by the Court of 

Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief 

Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant 

Attorney General, Michael R. Johnsen and Blythe J. Leszkay,

Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_______________________
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In 2005, defendant Kathy M. Engelhardt pled guilty to 

10 counts of first degree residential burglary (Pen. Code, § 459), 

and four counts of receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a)).

She fled the country while awaiting sentencing. Fourteen years 

later, defendant filed a motion to withdraw her plea, arguing she 

was in an abusive relationship with her codefendant, Dewey 

Maurice West, and was under duress when she entered her plea. 

The trial court denied the motion and sentenced defendant to 

eight years eight months in prison. On appeal, defendant argues 

the trial court abused its discretion when it denied her motion to 

withdraw her plea. We affirm. 

BACKGROUND

In March 2004, defendant and Mr. West were charged with 

31 felony counts stemming from burglaries committed at open 

houses (houses for sale open for viewing by potential buyers). An 

amended complaint was later filed alleging 23 counts. In all, over 

$300,000 in property was taken. 

The jury trial started on February 7, 2005. On 

February 10, 2005, the trial court asked whether the parties had 

reached an agreement regarding the disposition of the case. 

Mr. West was not prepared to enter a plea; he wanted more time 

to consider the People’s offer. Defendant was prepared to enter a 

plea that same day, and to be sentenced at a later date. The 

prosecutor was willing to accept defendant’s plea and allow 

Mr. West to proceed to trial. 

To ensure defendant appeared for sentencing, it was agreed 

she would plead guilty to 10 counts of burglary and four counts of 

receiving stolen property, with the understanding that nine of the 

burglary counts would be dismissed when she appeared at 
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sentencing. The negotiated disposition was a term of four years 

in prison. 

Defendant and Mr. West were initially represented by 

lawyers from the same law firm, but defendant was represented 

by separate counsel when she entered her plea. Defendant’s

counsel told the court he had discussed the disposition with her

“at length.” Defendant said she understood the disposition and 

wished to proceed with the plea. She also said she understood 

that if she failed to appear for sentencing, she could be sentenced 

to the maximum sentence for the counts to which she was 

pleading guilty. 

Defendant was placed under oath and admitted she 

attended open houses with Mr. West between November 2002 

and September 2003, she saw Mr. West take items from these 

houses, he admitted to her that he took items from the houses, 

and he admitted he sold some of those items. Following the 

standard plea colloquy and waiver of rights, the court concluded

defendant’s plea was made “freely and voluntarily.” 

After defendant entered her plea, Mr. West decided to 

plead guilty with a negotiated sentence of 15 years four months

in prison. 

Defendant’s sentencing was calendared for March 17, 2005, 

and she was permitted to remain out of custody on bail until 

then. She failed to appear at the sentencing hearing, and her 

bail was forfeited. 

Fourteen years later, on April 26, 2019, defendant filed a 

motion to withdraw her plea on the ground it was “procured 

through sustained coercion and severe threats of physical 

violence.” 
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Defendant submitted a declaration in support of the 

motion, testifying she moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and began 

dating Mr. West six months later. They quickly moved in 

together. Mr. West became physically and emotionally abusive. 

Defendant often fled their shared apartment to stay with friends, 

and Mr. West would threaten and harass her friends and break 

into their homes. 

Defendant tried to leave Mr. West “countless times” during 

their two-year relationship. She filed for a temporary restraining 

order in October 2002 but did not pursue it because she was 

afraid for her safety. 

In 2002, defendant attended open houses with Mr. West, 

after he suggested they find a larger place to live. She was 

“excited” about the prospect of moving, and “hopeful” about their 

relationship. Defendant would “disappear” during the open 

houses, and she soon noticed items in their apartment that did 

not belong to them, but she was too afraid to confront Mr. West. 

After they were arrested, Mr. West’s family posted 

defendant’s bail, took her to Mr. West’s mother’s house, and did 

not allow her to leave or speak with anyone for two weeks. 

At one point, the district attorney offered defendant a plea 

deal with a one-year jail sentence in exchange for her cooperation 

in the prosecution of Mr. West. Defendant refused the deal 

because she was “deeply fearful for [her] life.” 

Defendant did not feel she could “defend[] the false charges 

leveled against [her] for fear of reprisal from [Mr. West] and his 

family.” “It was in this state of fear and coercion from being 

constantly harassed, stalked, and threatened that [she] 

eventually decided to plead guilty, accept the false charges 
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leveled against [her] and agree to the unbelievably onerous 

prison sentence of four years.” 

After defendant accepted the plea deal, Mr. West’s mother 

called her and threatened “they would ‘get [her] in prison.’ ” 

Mr. West’s mother was angry defendant received a lighter 

sentence than her son. Before the sentencing hearing, defendant

fled the country in fear for her life. Years later, she returned to 

accept the consequences of her actions. 

Defendant’s friend, Olivia Fischa, submitted a declaration

in support of the motion, testifying Mr. West was abusive and 

would break into her apartment looking for defendant. During 

the pendency of the criminal case, defendant ended her 

relationship with Mr. West. Because of Mr. West’s stalking, 

defendant and Ms. Fischa stayed at Ms. Fischa’s mother’s house. 

Mr. West called there repeatedly, demanding to see defendant, 

and threatening to kill Ms. Fischa if she prevented him from 

seeing defendant. Ms. Fischa’s mother submitted a declaration 

corroborating that Mr. West left threatening messages. 

The trial court denied the motion, after concluding the plea

colloquy indicated defendant’s plea was freely and voluntarily

made. Defendant was sentenced to eight years eight months in 

prison. She timely appealed and received a certificate of probable 

cause. 

DISCUSSION

Penal Code section 1018 provides, in pertinent part, “On 

application of the defendant at any time before judgment . . . , the 

court may, . . . for a good cause shown, permit the plea of guilty to 

be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty substituted.” 

The defendant has the burden to show, by clear and 

convincing evidence, there is good cause for withdrawal of the 
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guilty plea. (Pen. Code, § 1018; People v. Cruz (1974) 12 Cal.3d 

562, 566.) “To establish good cause to withdraw a guilty plea, the 

defendant must show . . . that [defendant] was operating under 

mistake, ignorance, or any other factor overcoming the exercise of

. . . free judgment, including inadvertence, fraud, or duress. 

[Citation.] The defendant must also show . . . that [she] would 

not have accepted the plea bargain had it not been for the 

mistake.” (People v. Breslin (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1409, 1416.) 

A defendant must demonstrate she was pressured into the plea 

by more than the pressure experienced by “every other defendant 

faced with serious felony charges and the offer of a plea bargain.” 

(People v. Huricks (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1201, 1208.)

“A decision to deny a motion to withdraw a guilty plea 

‘ “rests in the sound discretion of the trial court” ’ and is final 

unless the defendant can show a clear abuse of that discretion. 

[Citations.] Moreover, a reviewing court must adopt the trial 

court’s factual findings if substantial evidence supports them.”

(People v. Fairbank (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1223, 1254.) “ ‘Guilty pleas 

resulting from a bargain should not be set aside lightly and 

finality of proceedings should be encouraged.’ ” (People v. Ravaux

(2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 914, 919.)

Although defendant suffered abuse by her codefendant, 

she did not testify she was pressured to enter the guilty plea. 

The threats to “get” defendant in prison were made after she 

entered her plea. The plea colloquy showed the plea was made 

freely and voluntarily, and we see nothing in the record to 

suggest otherwise. While the abuse may have influenced her 

decision to commit the crimes, or flee the country, it was 

unrelated to her plea. The role of this court is not to reweigh the 

evidence, but to determine if the court’s ruling has adequate 
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support in the record. On this record, we can find no abuse of 

discretion. 

DISPOSITION

The judgment is affirmed. 

GRIMES, Acting P. J.

WE CONCUR:

STRATTON, J.

WILEY, J.