1 Filed 10/9/14 P. v. Walton CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. DOW EDWIN WALTON, Defendant and Appellant. A141584 (Lake County Super. Ct. Nos. CR932596 & CR933692-A)

INTRODUCTION In this case, appellate counsel made an independent review of the proceedings
below and concluded the record reflects no meritorious claims for appeal. He has
advised defendant of his conc lusion and advised defendant he may file a supplemental brief raising issues he believes merit appellate review. Defendant has not filed any such pleadings. Pursuant to People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 118-119, counsel asks this court to conduct an independent review of the record. We have done so and find no issues meriting further appellate consideration.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On December 20, 2013 in Lake County, defendant Dow Edwin Walton entered a no contest plea to one felony count of driv ing under the influence (DUI) causing great bodily injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)) and admitted he person ally inflicted great bodily injury (GBI) upon A ndy Hopper (Pen. Code, § 120 22.7, subd. (a)). Before entering his plea, the court admonished defend ant of his maximum exposure of six years in prison. Defendant acknowledged his rights and waived them pursuant to Boykin v.2 Alabama (1969) 395 U.S. 238 and In re Tahl (1969) 1 Cal.3d 122. His counsel stipulated there was a factual basis for the plea. On January 10, 2014, the Lake County District Attorney filed a separate information charging defendant with felony counts of atte mpted robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 664, 211), grand theft from the person (Pen . Code, § 487, subd. (a)), vandalism (Pen. Code, § 594, subd. (a)), and making a criminal threat (Pen. Code, § 422). Among the
enhancements in this info rmation was the allegation de fendant was ineligible for probation because he had prior felony conv ictions. (Pen. Code, § 1203, subd. (e)(4).) On March 4, 2014, upon motion by the di strict attorney, the information was amended to add one felony count of being an accessory to the a ttempted robbery (Pen. Code, § 32). Defendant then entered a no contes t plea to the accessory charge as a felony with the understanding any sentence he received in this prosecution would be concurrent with the sentence in the pending DUI case. Again, before entering his plea, defendant acknowledged his Boykin rights and waived them. His co unsel stipulated there was a factual basis for the plea. The remaining co unts were dismissed by the court upon motion by the prosecution. On March 28, 2014, defendant filed a motio n to continue sentencing based on his need for an operation, the amputation of his f oot and lower leg. On April 7, 2014, the trial court denied the request for a continua nce and proceeded to hold the sentencing hearing. The court made this ruling after m eeting with the medical director of the county jail where defendant was housed. The court st ated, “It does appear that the procedure that’s going to take place can proceed e ither way before or after sentence.” At the sentencing, defense counsel firs t asked for probation pursuant to Penal Code section 1203, subdivision (e)(4). He ar gued in the alternativ e for the middle-term sentence on the felony DUI. The trial court denied the two requested options by defense counsel. The court selected the upper te rm of three years for the DUI-with-injury conviction citing the following aggravating factors: the DUI involved great bodily injury,3 defendant engaged in violent conduct indicati ng he posed a danger to society, his prior convictions were numerous, defendant serv ed four prior prison terms, and his performance on parole and prob ation had been unsatisfactor y. The single factor in mitigation observed by the court was defe ndant had made an early admission of responsibility in the sentencing cases. The court ordered the aggravated term to be enhanced by the thr ee-year admission of GBI by defendant. The court ordered the accessory convic tion to run concurrent with the DUI

sentence. STATEMENT OF FACTS Regarding the DUI offense, the parties s tipulated the facts entailed the following: “On January 27 . . . the defendant was driv ing his automobile with two passengers – M[s]. Regina Walton and Mr. Andy Hopper. Ac cording to witnesses, the defendant was driving at a high speed and past cars over doub le yellow lines. The defendant lost control of the vehicle and went off the roadway. CHP responded and pulled the defendant and his passengers from the burning vehicle.
“The defendant admitted he ha d recently smoked marijuana and methamphetamine. A blood sa mple obtained confirmed that he had methamphetamine and marijuana in his blood. An officer obs erved him at the scene to display signs and symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance. One of . . . the defendant’s passengers, Mr. Hopper, had suffere d a skull fracture, multiple broken ribs, lacerations and burns. . . . [¶ ] . . . Ms. Walton also suffere d third-degree burns to her abdomen, chest, and thigh.” On the accessory charge, th e parties stipulated defenda nt gave misinformation to police investigating the location of the robber y suspect, and that defendant knew at the
time the information was false.4 DISCUSSION
We have reviewed the record here. De fendant was correctly advised of his rights before entering the no contest pl ea in each case. The facts support the pleas before us. At all times defendant was ably represented by counsel. There is no certificate of probable cause in either case.
DISPOSITION We affirm the judgment.5 _ ____________ ____________ Dondero, J.

We concur:

_____________ ____________ Humes, P.J.

_____________ ____________ Banke, J.