In re J.T. CA1/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 18, 2021
DocketA160626
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re J.T. CA1/1 (In re J.T. CA1/1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re J.T. CA1/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 11/18/21 In re J.T. CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

In re J.T., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, A160626

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Solano County v. Super. Ct. No. J44953) J.T., Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant J.T. challenges several probation conditions imposed by the juvenile court at his reentry and disposition hearing following his release from commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Specifically, J.T. challenges a curfew condition, several aspects of a gang-related condition, and a police-contact condition as unreasonable under People v. Lent (1975) 15 Cal.3d 481 (Lent)1 and as unconstitutional. We conclude both the gang-activity condition, and the police-contact condition are currently infirm and remand the case to the juvenile court for removal or refinement of these conditions. We otherwise affirm.

Superseded on another ground by Proposition 8 as stated in People v. 1

Moran (2016) 1 Cal.5th 398, 403, footnote 6.

1 BACKGROUND On a July 2014 morning, J.T., then 14 years old, and another juvenile confronted a mother and her son in Richmond. J.T. yelled at the boy, “ ‘Empty out your pockets!’ ” and then started to “punch [him] in the chest numerous times” before reaching into his pockets and removing $40. The boy fell to the ground, and J.T. “kick[ed] him two more times in the ribs and nose.” As J.T. was confronting the boy, his cohort “punch[ed the mother] about four times in the stomach and kick[ed] her two more times in her thighs” before grabbing her cellphone. Minor and his friend then fled the scene. Months later, the two victims identified J.T. as one of the assailants, and he was detained. The Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition alleging two counts of second degree robbery along with two criminal street gang enhancements (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c), 186.22, subd. (b)(1)).2 During an interview with probation, J.T. initially stated he “associates with gang members” and in a subsequent interview, admitted to being a Sureño gang member. He pleaded no contest to one count of second degree robbery, and the juvenile court sustained the petition as to that count.3 J.T. was adjudged a ward of the court and committed to Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility (Orin Allen) for a period not to exceed nine months. Two months after his release from Orin Allen, J.T. violated his probation. Around midnight on an October 2015 night, J.T. was found in

2 All further references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 3 The juvenile court granted the district attorney’s motion to dismiss the second count of second degree robbery and the two gang enhancements.

2 possession of a “five inch knife with a brass knuckles handles,” and it was alleged he was “breaking . . . street lamps at the park.” He admitted to associating with Sureño gang members, including at the time of his arrest. Probation recommended another 60-day term at Orin Allen. All parties agreed to dismiss the probation violation, and that no new petition would be filed. The court continued J.T. as a ward of the court, committed him to Orin Allen for 60 days, and modified his probation terms upon release to include a “no assoc[iation] w[ith] anyone known to be a gang member” term. (Capitalization omitted.) A few days before the disposition hearing for the October violation, J.T. again violated his probation by “being involved in a physical altercation with another ward,” who was a Norteño gang member. J.T. also admitted this violation, and the court added another 30 days at Orin Allen to his commitment time. Two months after his release from Orin Allen, J.T. again violated probation.4 Around 2:00 a.m. on an April 2016 morning, a Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle that had been reported stolen. J.T. was driving the car, and in a subsequent interview, admitted “he knew the vehicle was a ‘hot boy car’ (street terminology for stolen vehicle).” (Capitalization omitted.) One of the passengers in the car associated with Sureño gang members. The district attorney filed a supplemental wardship petition alleging one count of unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)). J.T. pleaded no contest, and the court sustained the petition, and committed J.T. to the Youth Offender Treatment Program (the

4 J.T. violated two probation terms—that he (1) Obey all laws; and (2) “Be at legal residence between the hours of 7:00PM and 6:00AM unless accompanied by a parent/guardian.”

3 Program) for a maximum time of four years 165 days or until J.T. turned 21 years of age. Two days before the stolen car incident, J.T. and two other friends had been involved in an attempted shooting. The three minors arrived at the home of the victim’s mother, attempting to fight the victim’s brother. Realizing they were outnumbered by the victim’s family members, the minors fled after first threatening to return and “ ‘pop’ ” the brother. The brother stated the three were Sureño gang members because they yelled “ ‘Sur trece’ and ‘WSL’ ” at him before leaving. Later that day, the victim and her three children left her mother’s home. While the victim was driving, another car accelerated around her and then stopped in front of her, in an attempt to block her in. A suspect leaned out of the car and attempted to fire a gun towards the victim’s car, but the gun jammed. The police later found J.T. in the vehicle described by the victim. In an interview with police, J.T. initially denied having a firearm but later admitted he was the attempted shooter. He stated he thought the person they “had [a] funk with was in the car.” J.T. stated when he tried to shoot, he realized the safety was on. “At no time,” did J.T. “express[] remorse for [his] actions,” rather he “described his mistake as being ‘trigger happy’ ” and maintained they “ ‘only shot the gun one time’ ” and that no one had been hurt. J.T. also admitted his family members were members of the VFL Southerners gang and he was a member of the West Side Loco gang—both off-shoots of the Sureños. The district attorney filed an amended second supplemental wardship petition5 alleging one count of felony assault with a semiautomatic weapon

5Originally, the district attorney filed a criminal complaint alleging one count of felony assault with a semiautomatic weapon, and one count of

4 (§ 245, subd. (b)) and one count of felony assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2)), with special allegations of street terrorism and personal use of a firearm (§§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(B), 12022.5, subd. (a)) as to both counts. J.T. later pleaded no contest to the felony assault with a firearm count and admitted the gang enhancement allegation as to count 1.6 The court committed him to the DJJ for a maximum term of 10 years eight months or until the age of 23 with credit for time served of three years 78 days. Two years later, the probation department recommended DJJ jurisdiction be terminated and probation be reinstated. J.T. was regarded as “ ‘one of the model youths,’ ” and as a result of “his completion of treatment requirements, his overall reduction of risk to reoffend and improved strengths and behavior,” the parole board granted J.T.’s discharge. After a reentry hearing, DJJ’s jurisdiction was terminated, and the juvenile court continued J.T.

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Related

People v. Lent
541 P.2d 545 (California Supreme Court, 1975)
Brown v. Maria A.
52 Cal. App. 3d 901 (California Court of Appeal, 1975)
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People v. Victor L.
182 Cal. App. 4th 902 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Shaun R.
188 Cal. App. 4th 1129 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
In Re Justin S.
113 Cal. Rptr. 2d 466 (California Court of Appeal, 2001)
People v. Vincent G.
75 Cal. Rptr. 3d 526 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
People v. P.O.
246 Cal. App. 4th 288 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
People v. Moran
376 P.3d 617 (California Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. Relkin
6 Cal. App. 5th 1188 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
People v. I.V.
11 Cal. App. 5th 249 (California Court of Appeal, 2017)
People v. Ricardo P. (In Re Ricardo P.)
446 P.3d 747 (California Supreme Court, 2019)
People v. Rhinehart
229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 721 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2018)

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Bluebook (online)
In re J.T. CA1/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jt-ca11-calctapp-2021.