People v. Gower CA4/2

Filed 6/16/22 P. v. Gower CA4/2
See Dissenting Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent, E078303
v. (Super.Ct.No. BPR2101377)
ROBERT GOWER, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Sylwia Luttrell,
Temporary Judge. (Pursuant to Cal. Const., art. VI, § 21.) Affirmed.
Robert L. Hernandez, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant
and Appellant.
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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INTRODUCTION
A trial court found defendant and appellant Robert Gower in violation of the terms
of his parole. Defendant filed a timely appeal. We affirm.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Defendant was convicted of a violation of Penal Code section 290.018(b) (failure
to register). He was released on parole after serving one year nine months of a two-year
eight-month sentence. On July 20, 2020, he was given a document entitled Special
Conditions of Parole, which he signed in the presence of his parole agent, Agent Q. One
of the conditions required defendant to have continuous Global Positioning System
(GPS) monitoring. Another condition provided, “You shall charge the GPS device at
least two times per day (every 12 hours) for at least one full hour each charging time.
You shall contact your parole agent immediately if and when the device vibrates and/or
makes and audible tone.”
A petition for revocation of parole was filed on November 29, 2021, alleging that
defendant failed to keep his GPS unit charged.
A parole revocation hearing was held on December 28, 2021. Defendant’s parole
agent, Agent Q., testified that defendant was required to keep his GPS monitor charged.
However, the GPS monitoring center reported that on November 21, 2021, defendant’s
GPS device was no longer transmitting because it had a dead battery. Defendant had
only charged it for 17 minutes that day. Agent Q. attempted to reach defendant that day
but was unable to. He was eventually located on November 23, 2021, at his last known
location. Defendant had his GPS unit on and was arrested. Agent Q. retrieved
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defendant’s GPS unit, connected it to a charger, and verified that it was charging and
operable. Agent Q. was asked if defendant had ever had “this similar dead-battery issue
before.” Agent Q. stated, “[H]is parole has been violated multiple times. One for
disabling GPS tracking device, and the last three for absconding parole supervision.”
The court noted the evidence was undisputed that defendant signed terms of his
parole where he promised to charge his GPS unit for one hour in the morning and one
hour in the evening, and he failed to do so. It further noted that Agent Q. verified the
GPS unit was working. The court then found defendant in violation of his parole.
DISCUSSION
Defendant appealed and, upon his request, this court appointed counsel to
represent him. Counsel has filed a brief under the authority of People v. Wende (1979)
25 Cal.3d 436 and Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738, setting forth a statement of
the case and the following potential arguable issue: whether the probation violation was
supported by substantial evidence.
We offered defendant an opportunity to file a personal supplemental brief, which
he has not done.
Pursuant to the mandate of People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, we have
independently reviewed the record for potential error and find no arguable issues.
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DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
FIELDS
J.
I concur:
MILLER
Acting P. J.
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[People v. Gower, E078303]
Slough, J., Dissenting.
It remains my view that we should dismiss as abandoned Anders/Wende1 appeals
of postjudgment orders when counsel identifies no issues and the defendant declines to
file a personal supplemental brief, as was the case here. (E.g., People v. Cole (2020) 52
Cal.App.5th 1023, 1038-1040; People v. Scott (2020) 58 Cal.App.5th 1127, 1131.)
SLOUGH
J.
1 Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738; People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.
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