Filed 7/26/19 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE THE PEOPLE, B293096 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA068940) v. NICOLAS DEJESUS, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Lisa Mangay Chung, Judge. Affirmed. Ruzanna Poghosyan for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Zee Rodriguez and Paul S. Thies, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________ Nicolas DeJesus (DeJesus) appeals an order denying his motion to vacate and withdraw his 2016 plea of no contest to assault with a firearm. (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(2).)1 He contends that although his trial attorney advised him of the immigration consequences of his plea, he rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by refusing to try his case, failing to investigate the facts, and failing to negotiate an immigration- neutral disposition. (§ 1473.7, subd. (a)(1).) We conclude that DeJesus’s plea was not legally invalid as he does not offer sufficient evidence of a prejudicial error which damaged his ability to defend against the adverse immigration consequences of his plea. (Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 688; People v. Camacho (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 998 (Camacho).) Furthermore, based upon DeJesus’s custodial status, he is not eligible for relief under the statute. We therefore affirm. BACKGROUND DeJesus immigrated from the Philippines in 1992 and is a permanent legal resident. He is married to a United States citizen and is a father to seven children, all United States citizens. On June 15, 2016, DeJesus bought a refrigerator from a Home Depot store.2 He put it in his vehicle and returned to the store with the receipt. He selected another refrigerator, approached the cashier, showed her the receipt, advised her that he already purchased the refrigerator, and purchased trash bags. 1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Because DeJesus pled no contest prior to trial, the facts are from the preliminary hearing transcript. The loss prevention agent testified at the preliminary hearing. 2 While exiting the store, a loss prevention agent apprehended him. DeJesus initially complied with the agent’s commands, but then attempted to flee on foot. The agent struggled with DeJesus, handcuffed him, and escorted him back into the store. DeJesus drew a loaded .22-caliber pistol from his pocket and pointed it at the agent. The agent succeeded in subduing and disarming him, and police recovered the loaded pistol. DeJesus was charged with assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2)), shoplifting (§ 459.5), and an enhancement for personal use of a firearm (§ 12022.5). Pursuant to a plea agreement, DeJesus pled no contest to one count of assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2)) in exchange for the high term of four years in the state prison. The trial court dismissed the shoplifting charge and the firearm use enhancement. During his ...
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