People v. Ochoagomez CA2/1 ( 2021 )


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  • Filed 5/24/21 P. v. Ochoagomez CA2/1
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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    has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION ONE
    THE PEOPLE,                                                      B304504
    Plaintiff and Respondent,                              (Los Angeles County
    Super. Ct. No. BA467555)
    v.
    JULIO OCHOAGOMEZ,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of
    Los Angeles County, Sergio C. Tapia, Judge. Affirmed.
    Richard B. Lennon and Melissa L. Camacho-Cheung,
    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, Steven D. Matthews and Michael J.
    Wise, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
    Defendant Julio OchoaGomez challenges the trial court’s
    denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized during a traffic
    stop that ultimately resulted in OchoaGomez’s conviction for
    possession of a controlled substance. OchoaGomez argues that
    the police unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop beyond the time
    in which a reasonably diligent officer would have completed the
    mission of the stop, thereby violating his Fourth Amendment
    right to be free of unreasonable seizure under Rodriguez v.
    United States (2015) 
    575 U.S. 348
     (Rodriguez). We hold that,
    based on the factual findings supported by substantial evidence
    in the record, the detaining officer was diligent in his efforts
    to complete the mission of the traffic stop and had not yet
    completed that mission at the time his police dog alerted him
    to the presence of drugs in OchoaGomez’s vehicle. As such, the
    court did not err in denying the motion to suppress.
    OchoaGomez also challenges the court’s use of his prior
    juvenile adjudication to increase his sentence under California’s
    “Three Strikes” law (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)−(i), 1170.12,
    subds. (a)−(d)). He acknowledges that People v. Nguyen (2009)
    
    46 Cal.4th 1007
     (Nguyen) permits use of a juvenile adjudication
    as a prior strike, but argues Nguyen is no longer controlling law,
    because its reasoning has been fatally undermined by subsequent
    United States and California Supreme Court decisions regarding
    judicial factfinding and the Sixth Amendment right to a jury
    trial. (See Mathis v. United States (2016) 579 U.S. ___ [
    136 S.Ct. 2243
    , 
    195 L.Ed.2d 604
    ] (Mathis); Descamps v. United States
    (2013) 
    570 U.S. 254
     (Descamps); People v. Gallardo (2017) 
    4 Cal.5th 120
     (Gallardo).) We disagree that these decisions are
    inconsistent with Nguyen, as they address judicial factfinding on
    previously unadjudicated facts, an issue implicated neither in
    2
    Nguyen, nor in the instant appeal. As such, the trial court
    did not err in its application of OchoaGomez’s prior juvenile
    adjudication as a strike at sentencing.
    Accordingly, we affirm.
    FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW
    A.    Traffic Stop Resulting in OchoaGomez’s Arrest
    The following facts related to the traffic stop leading to
    OchoaGomez’s arrest are reflected in the police body camera
    footage from the stop, as well as the detaining officer’s
    uncontradicted testimony at the preliminary hearing.
    At about 9:30 in the morning of April 24, 2019, California
    Highway Patrol Officer Richard Cheever initiated a traffic stop
    of OchoaGomez’s vehicle based on OchoaGomez following a
    tractor trailer too closely and having tinted front windows,
    both violations of the Vehicle Code. (See Veh. Code, §§ 21703,
    26708, subdivision (a)(1).) Cheever is a K-9 handler and had his
    trained police dog in the car with him. After both Cheever and
    OchoaGomez exited the freeway and parked, Cheever approached
    the right front passenger side door of the car. Cheever told
    OchoaGomez the reason for the stop and asked for his driver’s
    license, vehicle registration, and insurance. Cheever noticed
    that OchoaGomez’s hands were trembling as he handed over his
    documents and noticed a “strong odor of air freshener emitting
    from the interior of the vehicle.” Cheever later testified that, in
    his experience, most individuals have trembling hands or other
    signs of nervousness at the beginning of a traffic stop, and that
    “air freshener is commonly used by drug traffickers to mask the
    odor of a substance that they may be transporting in the vehicle.”
    3
    Three minutes and 44 seconds into the body camera
    footage of the traffic stop, Cheever returned to his patrol car
    with OchoaGomez’s documents. Approximately two minutes
    later, he initiated a check of the vehicle registration. A Bell
    Gardens police officer then arrived as standby, but did not
    interact with OchoaGomez. Approximately a minute after
    Cheever had requested the registration check, he also requested
    a check on OchoaGomez’s license. Approximately a minute after
    that—and approximately eight minutes and 30 seconds into the
    traffic stop—Cheever also requested a check for any outstanding
    warrants. Cheever later testified he requested the warrant check
    because it is what he “normally [does] in a traffic stop.” While in
    the car, Cheever filled out a consent to search form. He did not
    write a traffic citation at that time, because he “inten[ded] to
    wait for the completion of the warrant check before [he] started
    writing anybody a ticket.”
    Around three minutes after he requested the warrant
    check—and approximately 11 minutes and 20 seconds into the
    traffic stop—Cheever returned to OchoaGomez’s car, directed him
    to exit, and frisked him. He then led OchoaGomez back toward
    his patrol car and asked him what he was doing in Bell Gardens,
    if he had any firearms, and whether he was on probation.
    OchoaGomez said he had been on probation for a gun charge
    when he was younger. Cheever then asked OchoaGomez if he
    would consent to a search of his vehicle with the police dog.
    OchoaGomez replied, “whatever . . . go ahead.” This occurred
    approximately 12 minutes and 15 seconds into the stop, at which
    point Cheever “was still waiting for the warrant check to return.”
    Cheever then confirmed OchoaGomez could read and understand
    English, and asked him to review the consent form, and stated “if
    4
    you have any [sic] understanding you can ask me some
    questions.” OchoaGomez indicated that he had read and
    understood the form, but refused to sign. Cheever wrote “
    ‘declined to sign the consent form’ ” across the form.
    Cheever then retrieved his dog from the patrol car and
    began an exterior sniff of the car. He walked the dog around the
    car, and the dog looked in the open right front window and sat
    down. Based on the dog’s training and Cheever’s experience with
    him, Cheever understood sitting to mean the dog detected the
    presence of drugs. At this point—approximately 15 minutes into
    the traffic stop and approximately six and a half minutes after
    Cheever had asked dispatch to check for outstanding warrants—
    the body camera footage does not reflect that Cheever had
    received a response to the warrant check.
    Cheever let the dog into the interior of the car, then
    opened the trunk. Inside the trunk, Cheever found a duffel
    bag, which contained twenty packages of what appeared to be
    methamphetamine. Cheever ultimately arrested OchoaGomez.
    The body camera footage does not reflect a response to Cheever’s
    request for a warrant check.
    B.    Preliminary Hearing and Motion to Suppress
    OchoaGomez moved to suppress all physical evidence
    obtained as a result of the traffic stop, pursuant to Penal Code
    section 1538.5. The court heard the motion at the preliminary
    hearing, during which Cheever testified and the court watched
    the body camera footage of the traffic stop. No other evidence
    was offered regarding the motion to suppress.
    The court denied the motion. The court found Cheever’s
    testimony credible and more specifically stated it believed
    Cheever’s testimony that he was “still waiting for the return of
    5
    the warrant check” approximately 15 minutes into the traffic
    stop when the police dog alerted Cheever to the presence of
    drugs. The court concluded Cheever had conducted the dog
    sniff within the time reasonably necessary to complete the
    initial purpose of Cheever’s traffic stop, and thus that the dog
    sniff had not prolonged the stop in a manner that would violate
    OchoaGomez’s federal constitutional rights.
    Following the preliminary hearing, OchoaGomez was
    charged with possession for sale of a controlled substance in
    violation of Health and Safety Code section 11378 (count 1),
    and sale/offer to sell/transportation of a controlled substance in
    violation of Health and Safety Code section 11379, subdivision (a)
    (count 2). The information further alleged that, as to both
    counts, the substance containing methamphetamine exceeded
    10 kilograms within the meaning of Health and Safety Code
    section 11370.4, subdivision (b)(3). The information also alleged
    a juvenile adjudication (see Pen. Code, § 211) as a strike under
    California’s Three Strikes law.
    C.    Plea Agreement and Sentencing
    Pursuant to a plea agreement, OchoaGomez waived his
    right to a jury trial, pleaded guilty to count 1, and admitted to
    having a prior juvenile adjudication. Also pursuant to the plea
    agreement, the second count in the information was dismissed.
    The court sentenced appellant to a total of six years in state
    prison, calculated as follows: the middle term of three years for
    the single count, doubled to six years for the strike prior.
    Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal based on the denial
    of his motion to suppress evidence and the sentence imposed by
    the trial court.
    6
    DISCUSSION
    A.    Motion to Suppress
    OchoaGomez first challenges the court’s denial of his
    motion to suppress. In reviewing the denial of a motion to
    suppress, we must accept all facts in favor of the ruling, including
    all reasonable inferences and deductions, if supported by
    substantial evidence. (People v. Castaneda (1995) 
    35 Cal.App.4th 1222
    , 1227.) “[T]he ‘ “reasonableness in all the circumstances
    of the particular governmental invasion of a citizen’s personal
    security” ’ is the guiding principle.” (People v. Grant (1990) 
    217 Cal.App.3d 1451
    , 1458.)
    1.    Applicable law
    The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    ensures the right of all “people to be secure in their persons . . .
    against unreasonable searches and seizures.” (U.S. Const., 4th
    Amend.) Temporary detention of individuals during the stop
    of an automobile by the police constitutes a seizure of persons
    within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. (Whren v.
    United States (1996) 
    517 U.S. 806
    , 809−810.) “[T]he tolerable
    duration of police inquiries in the traffic-stop context is
    determined by the [stop’s] ‘mission[,]’ ” which is “to address the
    traffic violation that warranted the stop, [citation] and attend to
    related safety concerns, [citations] . . . Authority for the seizure
    thus ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are—or
    reasonably should have been—completed.” (Rodriguez, supra,
    575 U.S. at p. 354.) In Rodriguez, the United States Supreme
    Court expressly identified tasks that serve the mission of a traffic
    stop as follows: “Beyond determining whether to issue a traffic
    ticket, an officer’s mission includes ‘ordinary inquiries incident to
    7
    [the traffic] stop.’ [Citation.] Typically such inquiries involve
    checking the driver’s license, determining whether there are
    outstanding warrants against the driver, and inspecting the
    automobile’s registration and proof of insurance.” (Id. at p. 355.)
    The Supreme Court explained that such checks are included
    in the scope of an officer’s mission in conducting a traffic stop
    because they “serve the same objective as enforcement of the
    traffic code: ensuring that vehicles on the road are operated
    safely and responsibly,” given that, for example, “[a] ‘warrant
    check makes it possible to determine whether the apparent
    traffic violator is wanted for one or more previous traffic
    offenses.’ ” (Ibid.) Rodriguez also ties warrant checks to
    officer safety concerns during traffic stops by citing authority
    it describes as “recognizing [the] officer safety justification
    for criminal record and outstanding warrant checks.” (Id. at
    p. 356, citing United States v. Holt (10th Cir. 2001) 
    264 F.3d 1215
    , 1221-1222.)
    Under these principles, the scope or duration of a traffic
    stop “ ‘become[s] unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time
    reasonably required to complete th[e] mission’ of issuing a ticket
    for the [traffic] violation” leading to the stop (Rodriguez, supra,
    575 U.S. at pp. 350–351), a mission that includes the tasks
    of checking the driver’s license, registration, and insurance,
    checking for outstanding warrants, and those minimally
    burdensome measures necessary to assure the officer’s safety.
    (Id. at p. 355; see People v. Vera (2018) 
    28 Cal.App.5th 1081
    ,
    1087−1088 (Vera) [officer conducting traffic stop “obtained
    [defendant]’s identification documents from his car and
    performed a warrant check, both of which were within the
    mission” of the stop].)
    8
    Rodriguez does not foreclose the police from performing
    investigative efforts during a traffic stop that are unrelated to
    the stop’s mission, however. (See Rodriguez, supra, 575 U.S.
    at pp. 355−356.) Rather, “[a]n officer . . . may conduct certain
    unrelated checks during an otherwise lawful traffic stop” as
    long as the officer does “not do so in a way that prolongs the stop,
    absent the reasonable suspicion ordinarily demanded to justify
    detaining an individual.” (Id. at p. 355.) For example, a dog sniff
    of a vehicle to detect the presence of drugs is not related to the
    mission of any traffic stop, but “[d]uring the execution of a lawful
    traffic stop, the police may have a trained dog sniff the driver’s
    vehicle . . . without implicating the Fourth Amendment,” as long
    as the traffic stop is not “ ‘prolonged’ by the dog sniff ‘beyond the
    time reasonably required’ to complete the mission of the traffic
    stop.” (Vera, supra, 28 Cal.App.5th at pp. 1085–1086.)
    2.    Cheever did not prolong the traffic stop
    beyond the time reasonably necessary
    to complete its mission, as Rodriguez
    defines it
    OchoaGomez argues that the traffic stop at issue here
    exceeded the reasonable amount of time necessary for Cheever
    to complete the mission of the traffic stop, because (1) Cheever
    prolonged the stop beyond the amount of time reasonably
    necessary to complete its mission by seeking consent to search
    the vehicle and performing an external dog sniff of the vehicle,
    and (2) Cheever did not diligently pursue the mission of the stop.
    We disagree.
    The trial court found Cheever was still waiting for the
    results of the warrant check when he prepared the consent
    form, when he asked OchoaGomez questions unrelated to the
    9
    traffic stop mission, and when he had his dog sniff the outside
    of the vehicle. Nothing in the record suggests otherwise; to
    the contrary, the body camera footage and Cheever’s testimony,
    which the court deemed credible, constitute substantial evidence
    to support the court’s finding. Because, under Rodriguez,
    performing a warrant check is within the proper scope of an
    officer’s mission in conducting a traffic stop, Cheever did not
    prolong the stop by conducting additional investigative activities
    while still waiting for the results of that search to return—
    even absent reasonable suspicion to separately justify those
    investigative activities. (See Rodriguez, supra, 575 U.S. at p. 355;
    Vera, supra, 28 Cal.App.5th at p. 1088−1089 [performing a dog
    sniff of defendant’s vehicle during a traffic stop did not violate
    Fourth Amendment under Rodriguez because the dog alerted
    when “[t]he mission of the traffic stop was in fact not finished”
    and before it “reasonably should have been” finished, italics
    omitted].)
    OchoaGomez argues that running warrant checks is only
    sometimes within the proper scope of a traffic stop, relying on
    the Supreme Court’s use of the word “typically” to introduce
    the list of ancillary efforts involved in such a stop. (Rodriguez,
    supra, 575 U.S. at p. 355 [“[A]n officer’s mission includes
    ‘ordinary inquiries incident to [the traffic] stop.’ [Citation.]
    Typically such inquiries involve checking the driver’s license,
    determining whether there are outstanding warrants against
    the driver, and inspecting the automobile's registration and
    proof of insurance,” italics added.].) Under OchoaGomez’s
    interpretation, however, checking to assure a motorist has
    a valid driver’s license would also only sometimes be within
    the scope of a traffic stop, and—perhaps more troubling—the
    10
    Supreme Court’s detailed discussion of a traffic stop’s mission
    in Rodriguez would provide no guidance as to when this is
    the case. OchoaGomez’s proposed interpretation of Rodriguez
    is also inconsistent with the opinion’s clear statement that
    warrant checks serve the purpose of a traffic stop (ensuring
    compliance with the Vehicle Code by checking for outstanding
    traffic violations), as well as its citation to the proposition that
    warrant checks promote officer safety during a traffic stop.
    (Id. at pp. 355−356.) We decline to adopt OchoaGomez’s forced
    interpretation of Rodriguez.
    In arguing to the contrary, OchoaGomez argues that
    Rodriguez’s discussion of an officer needing to be diligent in
    pursuing the mission of a traffic stop (Rodriguez, supra, 575 U.S.
    at p. 357), “breathes new life in[to] a line of pre-Rodriguez
    California cases,” which hold that all warrant checks reflect
    investigative activity unrelated to the mission of a traffic stop.
    (See People v. McGaughran (1979) 
    25 Cal.3d 577
    , 585−587
    (McGaughran); People v. Brown (1998) 
    62 Cal.App.4th 493
    ,
    498 [citing McGaughran for the proposition that “investigative
    activities beyond the original purpose of a traffic stop, including
    warrant checks, are permissible as long as they do not prolong
    the stop”]; see, e.g., People v. Gallardo (2005) 
    130 Cal.App.4th 234
    , 238 [same]; People v. Castaneda, supra, 35 Cal.App.4th
    at p. 1228 [same].) But this idea is inherently inconsistent
    with Rodriguez’s express conclusion that warrant checks are
    “typical[ ]” components of a traffic stop. (Rodriguez, supra, at
    p. 355.) Post-Rodriguez, these cases are thus of no assistance
    to OchoaGomez in arguing a warrant search is not part of the
    mission of a traffic stop.
    11
    We must also consider, however, whether Cheever was
    diligent in pursuing the mission of the traffic stop, such that the
    stop did not last longer than the amount of time in which the
    mission “reasonably should have been” completed. (Rodriguez,
    supra, 575 U.S. at p. 354; see Vera, supra, 28 Cal.App.5th at
    p. 1089 [that dog sniff occurred before mission of traffic stop
    completed does not end Fourth Amendment inquiry under
    Rodriguez].) OchoaGomez argues Cheever was not diligent,
    because Cheever never even started writing a citation during
    the approximately 15 minutes before the dog alerted.1 But
    the court credited Cheever’s testimony that he did not want to
    prepare a citation until he had confirmed whether OchoaGomez
    had any outstanding warrants. We must defer to the trial
    court on the credibility of this uncontradicted testimony. (See
    People v. Leyba (1981) 
    29 Cal.3d 591
    , 596–597). In any event,
    nothing in the record suggests Cheever’s stated reason for not
    immediately writing a citation was disingenuous. OchoaGomez
    does not cite any authority suggesting that, as a general rule,
    waiting for the results of a warrant check before writing a
    citation reflects a lack of diligence in pursuing the mission of a
    traffic stop. Nor does OchoaGomez cite any authority suggesting
    that the amount of time Cheever waited for the results of the
    warrant check was so long that it might render his decision not
    to start writing the ticket unreasonable.
    1  OchoaGomez does not dispute that, once the dog alerted
    Cheever to the possible presence of drugs in the vehicle, Cheever
    had reasonable suspicion to justify further detention. (See Vera,
    supra, 28 Cal.App.5th at p. 1089 [“[o]nce the dog alerted to the
    vehicle, there was independent reasonable suspicion for [the
    officer] to prolong [defendant’s] detention to search for drugs”].)
    12
    OchoaGomez repeatedly notes that the results of the
    warrant check “never produced an answer at all,” apparently
    implying that this somehow renders the warrant search
    pretextual. But it makes sense that law enforcement’s focus
    shifted away from the warrant search when Cheever found a
    large quantity of what appeared to be methamphetamine and
    arrested OchoaGomez. Thus, the fact that no response to the
    warrant check is reflected in the record—at least absent some
    other indication that the warrant search request was pretextual
    or that Cheever facilitated such lack of results—does not assist
    OchoaGomez’s arguments.
    Finally, the overall time of the traffic stop—approximately
    15 minutes—is not, absent some other indication of delay or
    improper motive, inherently too long for a diligent officer to
    complete the mission of explaining a traffic violation, obtaining
    an individual’s license, registration, and proof of insurance,
    running checks on these documents as well as a check for
    outstanding warrants, and executing a citation, all while
    taking reasonable measures to maintain the officer’s safety.
    3.    Cheever did not exceed the permissible
    scope of the traffic stop by ordering
    OchoaGomez to exit the car
    As noted, minimally burdensome measures that may be
    necessary to assure the officer’s safety in pursuing the mission
    of a traffic stop, such as requesting the individual to exit
    the vehicle, are also within the scope of an officer’s mission.
    (Rodriguez, supra, 575 U.S. at pp. 350–351; see Vera, supra,
    28 Cal.App.5th at p. 1088.) The United States Supreme Court
    has contrasted such precautions taken to complete the traffic
    stop safely with “safety precautions taken in order to facilitate”
    13
    “[o]n-scene investigation into other crimes,” noting the
    latter variety “detours from th[e] mission [of the traffic stop].”
    (Rodriguez, supra, at p. 356.) In Rodriguez, for example, the
    officer ordered the defendant to exit his car in order to facilitate
    the dog sniff the court ultimately concluded violated the Fourth
    Amendment. OchoaGomez argues this case presents a similar
    situation. But in Rodriguez, the Fourth Amendment violation
    stemmed from the fact that these efforts investigating other
    crimes (the exit order and dog sniff) prolonged the traffic stop
    beyond the amount of time necessary to complete the mission
    of the traffic stop (see id. at pp. 356−357); indeed, in Rodriguez,
    the officer had already issued the citation when he ordered the
    defendant to exit the car and performed the dog sniff. (Id. at
    p. 352.) Here, by contrast, even if Cheever ordered OchoaGomez
    out of the vehicle purely to facilitate the dog sniff, this occurred
    before Cheever had completed the mission of the traffic stop
    and within an amount of time reasonably necessary to complete
    the mission of the traffic stop. (See Discussion ante, part A.2.)
    It thus does not run afoul of the Fourth Amendment under
    Rodriguez. (See Vera, supra, 28 Cal.App.5th at p. 1088−1089.)
    B.    Use of Prior Juvenile Adjudication as a Strike
    at Sentencing
    OchoaGomez also challenges the court’s sentencing order.
    He argues that consideration of his prior juvenile adjudication
    as a strike violated his right to a jury trial, because juvenile
    adjudications are not made by a jury. OchoaGomez’s argument
    presents a purely legal issue, which we review de novo. (See
    People v. Brooks (2018) 
    23 Cal.App.5th 932
    , 941.)
    The California Supreme Court in Nguyen, 
    supra,
     
    46 Cal.4th 1007
    , held that juvenile adjudications may be used as strikes
    14
    “even though there was no right to a jury trial in the juvenile
    proceeding.” (Id. at p. 1010.) The court rejected the defendant’s
    claim that Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 
    530 U.S. 466
     (Apprendi)
    barred the use of a juvenile adjudication as a strike. Apprendi
    held that “[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that
    increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory
    maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond
    a reasonable doubt.” (Id. at p. 490, italics added.) In Nguyen,
    the literal rule of Apprendi had not been violated, and the
    defendant had waived his right (under California law) to a
    jury determination on the question of whether he had suffered
    the prior juvenile adjudication.2 (Nguyen, supra, 46 Cal.4th
    at p. 1015.) Nevertheless, the defendant claimed—as does
    OchoaGomez in the instant appeal—that “the lack of a jury-trial
    right in the prior juvenile proceeding precludes all use of the
    resulting adjudication to enhance the maximum sentence for his
    current offense.” (Id. at p. 1016.) The California Supreme Court
    disagreed, explaining that “Apprendi and its progeny concern an
    adult’s right to jury findings, in the adult case, of all previously
    unadjudicated facts that bear upon the maximum sentence
    for the adult offense.” (Id. at p. 1024.) Since the facts of the
    2 California law provides that “[w]henever, for purposes
    of enhancing the sentence on current charges, the prosecution
    alleges a prior conviction sustained by the defendant, and the
    defendant disputes the allegation, the question whether he or she
    ‘has suffered’ the prior conviction must, unless a jury is waived,
    be submitted to a jury in the current proceeding. (§§ 1025,
    subds.(a), (b), 1158.) This jury-trial requirement would extend,
    of course, to a prior juvenile adjudication included within the
    Three Strikes law’s definition of a ‘prior felony conviction.’ ”
    (Nguyen, 
    supra,
     46 Cal.4th at p. 1015.)
    15
    adult defendant’s juvenile offense in Nguyen had been previously
    adjudicated in the prior juvenile proceedings, the use of the
    juvenile adjudication as a strike did not violate the defendant’s
    Sixth Amendment rights. (Ibid.)
    OchoaGomez argues that Nguyen has been fatally
    undermined by the United States Supreme Court’s subsequent
    decisions in Descamps, supra, 
    570 U.S. 254
    , and Mathis, 
    supra,
    136 S.Ct. 2243
    , as well as the California Supreme Court’s
    subsequent decision in Gallardo, supra, 
    4 Cal.5th 120
    .
    Division Two of this court rejected these exact arguments
    in People v. Romero (2019) 
    44 Cal.App.5th 381
    , 389 (Romero),
    review denied Apr. 15, 2020, S260356, cert. denied sub nom.,
    Romero v. California (2020) 
    141 S.Ct. 633
    . Romero explained
    that Gallardo, Descamps and Mathis “do nothing to undermine
    the premise of . . . Nguyen because they did not concern the
    possibility of using the fact that a defendant incurred a juvenile
    adjudication to enhance a defendant’s sentence for a subsequent
    crime. Instead, those cases strictly prohibited factfinding by the
    sentencing court beyond the fact of a prior conviction.” (Romero,
    supra, at p. 389, italics added.) We agree with our colleagues in
    Division Two and reject OchoaGomez’s arguments for this same
    reason.
    16
    DISPOSITION
    The judgment is affirmed.
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
    ROTHSCHILD, P. J.
    We concur:
    CHANEY, J.
    BENDIX, J.
    17