Patillo v. State

The defendant failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient with regard to his non-negotiated plea to burglary, theft by receiving and a firearms offense.

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Within days after the trial court sentenced Terry Patillo on his guilty plea to burglary,1 theft by receiving,2 and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon,3 Patillo moved to withdraw the guilty plea, arguing that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. The court denied this motion, which Patillo appeals. Because some evidence supported the trial court’s finding that Patillo did not carry his burden of showing ineffective assistance, we affirm. After a jury had been selected to try Patillo on the referenced charges, he announced he wished to plead guilty. During the guilty-plea hearing, the State set forth the factual basis for the plea, explaining that the evidence would show that i Patillo’s DNA was at a house that had been burglarized, ii he had tried to sell the guns stolen from that house, iii he had been in possession of a shotgun that had earlier been stolen from another residence which shotgun he sold at a flea market, and iv Patillo was a convicted felon. Admitting that he had indeed engaged in the described acts, Patillo pled guilty to the charges of burglary, theft by receiving, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced accordingly.

Within the same term of court, Patillo moved to withdraw his guilty plea, asserting that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing on the matter, the court found that, based on trial counsel’s testimony which the court found more credible than Patillo’s self-serving testimony, Patillo had not carried his burden of showing ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the court denied Patillo’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea, giving rise to this appeal.

Patillo v. State

The defendant failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient with regard to his non-negotiated plea to burglary, theft by receiving and a firearms offense.

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