People v. Miles

43 Cal. App. 4th 364, 51 Cal. Rptr. 2d 87
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 7, 1996
DocketB090993
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 43 Cal. App. 4th 364 (People v. Miles) 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
People v. Miles, 43 Cal. App. 4th 364, 51 Cal. Rptr. 2d 87 (Cal. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

43 Cal.App.4th 364 (1996)
51 Cal. Rptr.2d 87

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
TRACEY MILES, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. B090993.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Five.

March 7, 1996.

*366 COUNSEL

William Flenniken, Jr., under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Carol Wendelin Pollack, Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Sanjay T. Kumar and Alan D. Tate, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

[Opinion certified for partial publication.[*]]

OPINION

TURNER, P.J. —

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant, Tracey Miles, who stands convicted of nine felonies, appeals from his conviction, after a jury trial, of two counts of robbery committed on a single occasion. (Pen. Code, § 211.)[1] As to count 1, defendant received an indeterminate sentence of 36 years to life. This sentence consisted of: a term of 25 years to life imposed pursuant to section 667, subdivision (e)(2)(A)(ii); 10 years as a result of the findings he had been convicted of serious felonies on 2 occasions as required by section 667, subdivision (a)(1); and 1 additional year pursuant to section 12022, subdivision (a)(1) because a principal in the robberies used a firearm although defendant was not personally armed. Further, as to count 2, defendant received a consecutive determinate term of one year, four months. He raises various contentions concerning his sentence which we address in the unpublished portion of this opinion. In the published portion of this opinion, we address the Attorney General's argument the trial court pronounced a legally unauthorized sentence which may be corrected for the first time on appeal. We conclude when a defendant with two prior serious felony convictions commits two robberies on a single occasion as occurred in this case, two consecutive indeterminate twenty-five-year-to-life sentences must be imposed, putting aside the issue of enhancements. We modify the judgment to so provide. Also, we modify the judgment to reflect one additional day of presentence custody credit and affirm as modified.

Defendant was convicted of two counts of robbery of a Taco Bell restaurant. A semiautomatic gun was used by one of his two coperpetrators. While the gun was not loaded at the time police officers recovered it, there was no *367 direct evidence the firearm did not contain ammunition at the time of the robbery. The gun was pointed at a Taco Bell employee at close range. Further, the jury found defendant had experienced seven prior felony convictions. He had been convicted of: roDbery on June 4, 1985, and sentenced to prison; three counts of robbery on June 27, 1985, for which he was sentenced to prison; and receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a)), second degree burglary of a vehicle (§ 459), and attempted grand theft of a vehicle (§§ 664, 487h, subd. (a)) on October 23, 1990, for which he was again sentenced to prison. Defendant committed his first known offense when he was 19 years old. He was 28 years of age when he committed the present offense. Defendant was on parole when he committed the present offense. In addition, defendant: was a "hardcore" member of the Insane Crips gang; had been unemployed for nearly five years when he committed the present offense; his primary source of income was criminal activity; was a high school dropout; showed no remorse; and presented a serious, ongoing threat to public safety. He further has failed to provide support for the two children he fathered. The probation officer described defendant as a "`career criminal.'" Additionally, the probation officer found two factors in aggravation, defendant's record and the planning present in the robbery. The probation officer could not identify any mitigating factors.

II. DISCUSSION[*]

.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .

As to count 1, defendant received a sentence of 36 years to life. As to count 2, the court imposed a one-year, four-month sentence. The count 2 sentence consisted of one-third the three-year mid-term plus one-third of the section 12022, subdivision (a)(1) enhancement. The Attorney General argues that the trial court should have imposed a 25-year-to-life sentence plus a 1-year enhancement pursuant to section 12022, subdivision (a)(1) as to count 2. (1) It is well established that a legally unauthorized sentence can be corrected at any time including on direct appeal upon request of the prosecution even though the issue was never raised in the trial court and the result is the defendant serves a longer prison term. (People v. Scott (1994) 9 Cal.4th 331, 354 [36 Cal. Rptr.2d 627, 885 P.2d 1040]; People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 235 [19 Cal. Rptr.2d 520, 851 P.2d 802]; People v. Karaman (1992) 4 Cal.4th 335, 345-346, fn. 11, 349, fn. 15 [14 Cal. Rptr.2d 801, 842 P.2d 100]; In re Ricky H. (1981) 30 Cal.3d 176, 190-191 [178 Cal. Rptr. 324, 636 P.2d 13]; People v. Davis (1981) 29 Cal.3d 814, 827 & fn. 5 [176 Cal. Rptr. 521, 633 P.2d 186]; People v. Serrato (1973) 9 Cal.3d 753, 763-765 [109 Cal. Rptr. 65, 512 P.2d 289], disapproved on another point *368 in People v. Fosselman (1983) 33 Cal.3d 572, 583, fn. 1 [189 Cal. Rptr. 855, 659 P.2d 1144]; In re Sandel (1966) 64 Cal.2d 412, 414-418 [50 Cal. Rptr. 462, 412 P.2d 806].) (2) The Attorney General argues that the trial court pronounced a legally unauthorized sentence as to count 2. As noted previously, the trial court imposed a one-year, four-month sentence as to count 2. We agree this was a legally unauthorized sentence.

Section 667 subdivision (e) provides in pertinent part: "For purposes of subdivisions (b) to (i), inclusive, and in addition to any other enhancement or punishment provisions which may apply, the following shall apply where a defendant has a prior felony conviction: [¶] ... [¶] (2)(A) If a defendant has two or more prior felony convictions as defined in subdivision (d) that have been pled and proved, the term for the current felony conviction shall be an indeterminate term of life imprisonment with a minimum term of the indeterminate sentence calculated as the greater of: [¶] (i) Three times the term otherwise provided as punishment for each current felony conviction subsequent to the two or more prior felony convictions. [¶] (ii) Imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years. [¶] (iii) The term determined by the court pursuant to Section 1170 for the underlying conviction, including any enhancement applicable under Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 1170) of Title 7 of Part 2, or any period prescribed by Section 190 or 3046." Putting aside the issue of enhancements, the greatest determinate term that can be applied to a defendant as a result of the count 2 robbery sentence is five years. (§ 213, subd.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Robinson CA2/7
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Martine CA2/5
California Court of Appeal, 2016
People v. Hinton
126 P.3d 981 (California Supreme Court, 2006)
People v. Williams
98 P.3d 876 (California Supreme Court, 2004)
People v. Lyons
85 Cal. Rptr. 2d 581 (California Court of Appeal, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
43 Cal. App. 4th 364, 51 Cal. Rptr. 2d 87, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-miles-calctapp-1996.