People v. Asghedom

Defendant, a citizen of Eritrea, has been a lawful U.S. permanent resident since 1981. In 1988, police witnessed a hand-to-hand exchange involving defendant. As the men ran away, an officer saw defendant reach into his waistband and drop a loaded handgun and throw a plastic baggie that contained rocks of cocaine base, weighing a total of 2.34 grams. An officer found a glass pipe with cocaine residue on top of defendant’s wallet, which did not contain a large amount of cash. Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine base for sale and admitted the firearm allegation. He was not advised of the immigration consequences. In 1992, defendant admitted violating probation by failing to maintain contact with his probation officer and testing positive for cocaine. In 2004, defendant returned to the U.S. after an overseas trip and was “not admitted” based on the conviction, but was allowed to remain in the U.S. Defendant was detained in 2013. Defendant filed an unsuccessful Penal Code 1016.5 motion to vacate the convictions and to withdraw his pleas. The court found that he “had failed to show prejudice.” The court of appeal remanded for determination of whether defendant made the required showing of reasonable diligence. View "People v. Asghedom" on Justia Law