People v. Martin

211 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 6 Cal. App. 5th 666, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 1077
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedDecember 12, 2016
DocketF071654
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 211 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559 (People v. Martin) 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. Martin, 211 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 6 Cal. App. 5th 666, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 1077 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

DETJEN, J.

*670INTRODUCTION

Brandon Lamar Martin (defendant) appeals from the denial of his petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.18,1 a statute added by Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. Defendant asserts his burglary convictions are eligible for resentencing because they would have been convictions for shoplifting, punishable as misdemeanors under section 459.5, another statute added by Proposition 47. We disagree and *671affirm the judgment of the trial court. Section 459.5's use of the term "larceny" does not include all forms of theft. Defendant's felony conviction for second degree burglary, for entering a commercial establishment and acquiring merchandise by use of a forged check, is not subject to recall of sentence and resentencing under section 1170.18, subdivision (a) or designation as a misdemeanor under section 1170.18, subdivision (f), because his conduct would not have constituted a violation of section 459.5 had that section been in effect at the time of his offense.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 10, 2009, defendant entered a Smart & Final in Clovis, California, and purchased alcohol, candy, toilet paper, and other items. Defendant paid with a check, number 2241, and provided his identification to the cashier. The cashier manually entered the check information into the register and, believing the check was valid, allowed defendant to leave with the goods he had purchased when the transaction was complete. As a result, defendant was sold $192.26 worth of goods.

Defendant later returned to the store and again bought alcohol and snack items. He again paid with a check, number 2242, and provided his identification to the cashier. Defendant's identification matched the information on the check and the clerk accepted the check believing it to be valid. As a result, defendant was sold $306.38 worth of goods.

Both checks were tied to the payroll account of a business called The Allergy Center. When the checks cashed, the bookkeeper for the company noticed both that they were out of order and that the company name was not on them. Defendant was not authorized to write checks on behalf of the company and was not known by the bookkeeper.

Defendant was convicted on six counts relating to the two forged checks; two counts of identity theft (§ 530.5, subd. (a)), two counts of second degree commercial burglary (§ 459, subd. (b)), and two counts of check forgery (§ 475, subd. (c)). In bifurcated proceedings, defendant was found to have several prior convictions and to have served several prior prison terms. Defendant received a sentence of six years in prison.

On December 15, 2014, defendant filed a petition pursuant to Proposition 47 to have his second degree commercial burglary convictions reduced to misdemeanor violations of section 459.5, and to be resentenced. His petition was later supplemented with additional briefing from counsel. On May 4, 2015, the trial court held a hearing and denied defendant's petition noting that, because defendant was likely out of prison, the petition should be treated *672as an application for modification. The trial court concluded that, because forgery was "not a theft," defendant had not entered *562the Smart & Final with the intent to commit theft and was therefore not eligible for relief under Proposition 47.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

The record is viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling with a presumption that the order is correct. (People v. Johnson (2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 953, 960, 205 Cal.Rptr.3d 246.) The court's review of the meaning of a voter initiative is de novo. (In re J.L. (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 1108, 1114, 195 Cal.Rptr.3d 482.) Factual findings of the trial court are reviewed "for substantial evidence and the application of those facts to the statute de novo." (People v. Johnson , supra , at p. 960, 205 Cal.Rptr.3d 246.)

DISCUSSION

" 'On November 4, 2014, the voters enacted Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act....' [Citation.] 'Proposition 47 makes certain drug- and theft-related offenses misdemeanors, unless the offenses were committed by certain ineligible defendants. These offenses had previously been designated as either felonies or wobblers (crimes that can be punished as either felonies or misdemeanors).' [Citation.]" (People v. Morales (2016) 63 Cal.4th 399, 404, 203 Cal.Rptr.3d 130, 371 P.3d 592.)

Proposition 47 also created a new resentencing provision, to wit, section 1170.18. Under that statute, "[a] person currently serving a sentence for a conviction ... of a felony or felonies who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under the act that added this section ('this act') had this act been in effect at the time of the offense may petition for a recall of sentence ... to request resentencing in accordance with ... [s]ection 459.5...." (Id . subd. (a).) If, on the other hand, "[a] person ... [had] completed his or her sentence for a conviction, ... of a felony or felonies who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under this act had this act been in effect at the time of the offense, may file an application ... to have the felony conviction or convictions designated as misdemeanors." (Id . subd. (f).)

Section 459.5, a statute added by Proposition 47, created a new crime of shoplifting, a misdemeanor offense that punishes certain conduct that previously would have qualified as a burglary. Now codified, section 459.5, subdivision (a) provides in relevant part: "Notwithstanding Section 459 [ (the burglary statute) ], shoplifting is defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where the value of the property that is taken or *673intended to be taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950). Any other entry into a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny is burglary. Shoplifting shall be punished as a misdemeanor...."

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
211 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 6 Cal. App. 5th 666, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 1077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-martin-calctapp5d-2016.