Filed 8/18/15 P. v. Phillips CA4/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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, E063104
v. (Super.Ct.No. FWV1303492)
ROBERT F. PHILLIPS, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Michael R. Libutti,
Judge. Affirmed.
William D. Farber, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendant Robert Phillips is serving six years in prison after pleading guilty to
forcible rape. We affirm the judgment.
1
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
Defendant and the victim had recently ended a long-term relationship and
defendant moved out of the victim’s home. The victim told defendant he had some mail
at the home and gave him permission to come over to get it. On the evening of October
17, 2013, she returned home to find defendant sitting in her backyard with a half-empty
bottle of whiskey. At about 9:35 p.m., the victim called her sister to tell her defendant
was acting strangely and that she did not want him in her home. About five minutes
later, the victim went inside to use her downstairs bathroom. Defendant followed her and
entered the bathroom naked. He began to sexually assault the victim while she was on
the toilet and told her he wanted to have sex with her one last time.
The victim told defendant to stop, but he forcibly carried her into the living room
and removed her clothing. Defendant held the victim down by force and they struggled
for about two hours, both on the living room floor and after he pulled her up the stairs to
the bedroom. The victim eventually broke free and ran into her bathroom, where she
found a pair of scissors. However, noting the “possessed” look on defendant’s face, his
superior strength and her exhaustion from the long struggle, the victim put away the
scissors and told defendant to “do whatever you want.” Defendant finished the assault on
the bed and ejaculated. The victim called her sister and 911. Defendant was waiting in
front of the garage when police arrived.
2
On October 22, 2013, the People filed a complaint charging defendant in count
one with sexual penetration by a foreign object (Pen. Code § 289, subd. (a)(1)(A)1 and in
count two with forcible rape (§ 261, subd. (a)(2)).
On September 23, 2014, defendant pled guilty to count two.
On October 22, 2014, defendant asked to withdraw his guilty plea. The court
relieved defense counsel and appointed conflict counsel. On December 18, 2014,
defendant filed his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty pursuant to section 1018,
arguing his previous attorney “rushed me into making a bad decision.” Defendant filed
supplemental declarations on January 23, 2015 and February 24, 2015, in which he
stated, among other things, that he was not “given a full discovery package to review,” he
only saw his attorney in court, he was surprised that the plea agreement did not provide
for two-for-one credit for pre-sentence custody, his attorney had not contacted his sisters
about evidence his sisters possessed, his attorney kept reminding him that he could face
16 years if he lost at trial, he was not informed about the specifics and consequences of
registering as a sex offender, and that he felt “coerced, pressured and misled.”
On February 24, 2015, the court heard and denied defendant’s motion. The court
then sentenced defendant to the middle term of six years in prison, with credit for 570
days—496 actual and 74 days conduct credit under section 2933.1.
This appeal followed. Defendant did not obtain a certificate of probable cause.
1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.
3
DISCUSSION
After defendant appealed, 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, a summary of the facts and potential arguable issues, and requesting this court
conduct an independent review of the record.
We offered defendant an opportunity to file a personal supplemental brief, and he
has not done so.
Pursuant to the mandate of People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, we have
independently reviewed the entire record for potential error and find no arguable error
that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
RAMIREZ
P. J.
We concur:
HOLLENHORST
J.
CODRINGTON
J.
4
People v. Phillips CA4/3
Combined Opinion