Filed 7/15/24 P. v. Fernandez CA4/1

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COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

ALEJANDRO AVALOS FERNANDEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

 D083282

 (Super. Ct. No. SCN248790)

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, 

Runston G. Maino, Judge. Affirmed. 

Alejandro Avalos Fernandez, in pro. per.; and James M. Crawford, 

under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

In 2010, Alejandro Avalos Fernandez entered into a plea agreement. 

He pleaded guilty to first degree murder (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a);

count 1); rape of a person over 70 years of age and admitted he personally 

inflicted great bodily injury (§§ 261, subd. (a)(2); count 2); assault with intent 

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.
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to commit a felony (§ 220; count 5); and admitted he personally inflicted great 

bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). 

In his change of plea, Fernandez provided a factual basis for the plea, 

“on or about September 1, 2001, I unlawfully raped and during the course of 

the rape, killed [G.C.]; and on April 11, 2004, I assaulted [R.J.] with the 

intent to commit rape, and in the course of that assault personally inflicted 

great bodily injury on [R.J.].” 

The court sentenced Fernandez to an indeterminate term of 25 years to 

life plus a determinate term of nine years in prison. .

In 2023, Fernandez filed a petition for resentencing under 

section 1172.6. The court appointed counsel, received briefing, reviewed the 

record of conviction, and held a hearing. The court determined that 

Fernandez was the actual killer and was therefore ineligible for resentencing 

under section 1172.6. The court denied the petition without issuing an order 

to show cause or holding an evidentiary hearing. 

Fernandez filed a timely notice of appeal. 

Appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to People v. Delgadillo

(2022) 14 Cal.5th 216 (Delgadillo) indicating counsel has not been able to 

identify any potentially meritorious issues for reversal on appeal. Counsel 

asks the court to exercise its discretion to independently review the record for 

error under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).

We advised Fernandez he could file his own brief on appeal. He has 

responded with a brief letter. Fernandez does not address any potential 

issues regarding the denial of his petition for resentencing. He takes 

responsibility for his crime and asks the court for clemency, which is not 

within the court’s authority in this case. Fernandez’s submission does not 

raise any potentially meritorious issues for reversal of the current order.
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We do not believe it is necessary to try to construct a statement of facts 

regarding the convictions based on guilty pleas.

DISCUSSION

As we have noted, appellate counsel has filed a Delgadillo brief and 

asks the court to independently review the record for error. To assist the 

court in its review, and in compliance with Anders v. California (1967) 386 

U.S. 738 (Anders), counsel identifies two possible issues that were considered 

in evaluating the potential merits of this appeal.

1. Whether the court erred in denying the petition without issuing 

an order to show cause.

2. Whether Fernandez’s guilty plea refuted his allegations in his 

petition without holding an evidentiary hearing.

We have independently reviewed the record for error as requested by 

appellant. We have not discovered any potentially meritorious issues for

reversal on appeal. Competent counsel has represented Fernandez on this 

appeal.
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DISPOSITION

The order denying appellant’s petition for resentencing under 

section 1172.6 is affirmed.

HUFFMAN, Acting P. J.

WE CONCUR:

O’ROURKE, J.

KELETY, J.