People v. Liu

229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 889, 21 Cal. App. 5th 143
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedMarch 9, 2018
DocketB279393
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 889 (People v. Liu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Liu, 229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 889, 21 Cal. App. 5th 143 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

GRIMES, J.

*146This is the second time this case has been before us. In 2013, a jury convicted defendant Si H. Liu of 22 theft-related counts connected to her scam of offering loan services to immigrants. She took the victims' credit cards and identifying documents and made unauthorized purchases, or wrongfully retained copies of their documents. In our October 30, 2015 opinion, we reversed her conviction on one count, and modified her sentence to stay four other counts pursuant to Penal Code section 654.1 ( People v. Liu (B254655) 2015 WL 6601318 [nonpub. opn.] ( Liu I ).)

Following resolution of her appeal, defendant applied under Proposition 47 (The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act; § 1170.18) to have six counts resentenced as misdemeanors (§ 484e, subd. (d); counts 2, 6, 14, 21, 23; § 530.5, subd. (c)(3); count 25).2 The trial court denied her petitions, *891finding that "[the] defendant [is] not eligible." As to counts 2, 6, and 14, we affirm, finding the record amply demonstrates defendant's ineligibility for relief. We also find that defendant's conviction under section 530.5, subdivision (c) (count 25) does not qualify for resentencing under section 1170.18 as a matter of law. As to counts 21 and 23, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2013, a felony complaint was filed charging defendant with 23 counts, including fraudulent acquisition and retention of access card information (§ 484e, subd. (d) ) and fraudulent acquisition and retention of personal identifying information of 10 or more people (§ 530.5, subd. (c)(3) ), among other charges not relevant here. She was convicted by jury, and was sentenced to a total term of 10 years in prison.

*147The following facts are drawn largely from our earlier opinion: As to count 2, defendant acquired the driver's license, social security card, and several credit cards belonging to Yuan Zhao, under the pretense that she would help Ms. Zhao obtain a loan to remodel her home. Ms. Zhao later noticed nearly $7,000 in fraudulent charges on her credit accounts. Following her conviction, defendant was ordered to make restitution of $6,665 to Ms. Zhao. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

As to count 6, Mr. Ping Guo sought defendant's help to obtain a loan to pay for his brother's cancer treatments, and provided defendant with his driver's license and two credit cards. He noticed an unauthorized charge of $2,500 to one of his accounts. Defendant was ordered to pay over $7,000 in restitution to Mr. Guo. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

As to count 14, defendant obtained credit cards, and other personal information, from Jenny You for the ostensible purpose of obtaining a loan for Ms. You. Ms. You discovered unauthorized charges totaling $8,000 to her cards. Defendant was ordered to pay Ms. You restitution of $2,816.50. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

As to count 21, Mr. Chun Ouyang provided his driver's license and credit card to defendant to help his friend obtain a loan. Defendant opened a new line of credit in Mr. Ouyang's name, and purchased $500 in gift cards on the new line of credit. Defendant was ordered to pay restitution of $161.52 to Mr. Ouyang. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

As to count 23, Mr. Ting Wei Sun gave defendant his debit card and driver's license. She opened a new line of credit at Walmart for Mr. Sun, and purchased $150 in gift cards. No restitution was ordered as to Mr. Sun. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

Count 25 was based on defendant's possession of driver's licenses, social security cards, business records, bank statements, and other documents belonging to 10 different victims. ( Liu I , supra, B254655.)

On April 8, 2016, defendant, in propria persona, filed six petitions seeking to have her felony sentences recalled and resentenced as misdemeanors under section 1170.18, subdivision (a). She checked the box on the petitions indicating that "[t]he amount in question is not more than $950." She did not present any verification or other evidence in support of her petitions. On May 11, 2016, the court held a hearing on the petitions. The record before the trial court consisted of the felony information, the minute order for defendant's arraignment, minute orders reflecting the jury's verdict, sentencing minute orders, and the abstract of judgment. Defendant was not present or represented by counsel at the hearing. The People orally opposed *892the petitions, *148urging that "not one [count] qualify[ies] for relief." The court denied defendant's petitions, finding that "[d]efendant [is] not eligible." This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Proposition 47 reduced the penalties for certain drug- and theft-related offenses and reclassified those offenses as misdemeanors rather than felonies. (§ 1170.18; People v. Sherow (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 875, 879, 191 Cal.Rptr.3d 295 ; People v. Rivera (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1085, 1091, 183 Cal.Rptr.3d 362.) Under section 1170.18, a person currently serving a felony sentence for an offense made a misdemeanor under Proposition 47, may petition for a recall of that sentence and request resentencing in accordance with the statutes that were added or amended by Proposition 47. (§ 1170.18, subd. (a).) A person who satisfies section 1170.18's criteria shall have his or her sentence recalled and be "resentenced to a misdemeanor ... unless the court, in its discretion, determines that resentencing the petitioner would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety." (Id. , subd. (b).) The applicant bears the burden of proving that he or she is eligible for Proposition 47 relief. ( Sherow , at pp. 879-880, 191 Cal.Rptr.3d 295.)

Relying on the recent Supreme Court decision, People v. Romanowski (2017) 2 Cal.5th 903, 215 Cal.Rptr.3d 758,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 889, 21 Cal. App. 5th 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-liu-calctapp5d-2018.