People v. Lewis

[191 CalApp3d Page 1292] James Lee Lewis appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial that resulted in his conviction of burglary and forcible rape, and his admission of a total of three prior sex-offense and serious-felony enhancements (Pen. Code, ?? 459, 261, subd. (2), 667.6, subd. (a), 667, subd. (a)). He was sentenced to 23 years in prison and contends: (I) that the trial court erred in ruling that he could be impeached with prior convictions of rape and robbery, and failed to weigh the possible prejudicial impact of the convictions against their probative value; (II) that certain items of physical evidence, including blood and semen samples, should have been excluded because of the lack of an adequate foundation regarding chain of custody; (III) that five-year sentence enhancements were improperly imposed under both Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a) and Penal Code section 667.6, subdivision (a) for a single prior conviction of rape; (IV) that appellant may only be sentenced for one of the three enhancements admitted because the underlying felonies were not ""brought and tried separately"" within the meaning of Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a); and (V) that he admitted the prior serious-felony and prior sex-offense enhancements without sufficient advice regarding the right to a bifurcated jury trial and the consequences of the admissions.