People v. Amurrio CA2/3


Filed 3/15/22 P. v. Amurrio CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a). IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE THE PEOPLE, B311742 Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA057508 v. FREDDY RONALD AMURRIO, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Lee W. Tsao, Judge. Reversed and remanded with instructions. Ruben J. L. Salgado for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Steven D. Matthews, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. INTRODUCTION Defendant Freddy Ronald Amurrio, a Bolivian national who lacks meaningful ties to his country of birth, has been a lawful resident of the United States since he was young. His three children are American citizens. In September 2000, Amurrio pled guilty to drunk driving and transportation of hallucinogenic mushrooms. He received probation. More than a decade later, while returning to the United States from a soccer tournament in Mexico, immigration authorities discovered the conviction and initiated removal proceedings against him. 1 In 2020, Amurrio filed a motion to vacate his conviction and withdraw his plea, arguing he did not understand that his guilty plea would subject him to mandatory deportation, and he would not have pled guilty if he had. The trial court denied the motion, and Amurrio appeals. We reverse the court’s order and remand with directions. BACKGROUND Amurrio was born on September 29, 1973, in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In 1985, Amurrio immigrated to the United States to join his parents, who at the time were lawful permanent residents. 1 Amurrio also appears to have been convicted, in February 2000, of misdemeanor criminal threats (Pen. Code, § 422). The circumstances surrounding that conviction are not before us, and the People do not argue that the conviction renders Amurrio deportable or results in his inability to show prejudice from denial of the motion to vacate and withdraw his plea to the transportation and drunk driving charges. We therefore do not address it. (See People v. Rodriguez (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 301, 306, fn. 4 (Rodriguez).) 2 Amurrio became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 1987. Amurrio attended and graduated from high school in Whittier, California. He has three children, born in 1997, 2000, and 2002, all of whom are American citizens. By information dated July 25, 2000, Amurrio was charged with felony possession for sale of a controlled substance (psilocyn) (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378; count 1); felony transportation of a controlled substance (psilocyn) (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379, subd. (a); count 2); misdemeanor driving under the influence with prior (Veh. …

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