People v. Montes CA2/4

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 7, 2023
DocketB318207
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Montes CA2/4 (People v. Montes CA2/4) 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. Montes CA2/4, (Cal. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

Filed 7/7/23 P. v. Montes CA2/4

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B318207

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA358831 v.

ERICK MONTES,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Renee F. Korn, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions, affirmed in all other respects. Ava R. Stralla, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Peggy Z. Huang, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Appellant Erick Montes appeals after a resentencing hearing. He first contends that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion under Senate Bill No. 567 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) (SB 567) when resentencing him on count 2, for assault with a semiautomatic firearm. However, appellant failed to object or seek clarification below, rendering this issue forfeited on appeal. Even if we were to reach the merits of appellant’s argument, we would conclude that the record shows the court exercised its discretion. Appellant also contends, and respondent Attorney General agrees, that the trial court erred by staying rather than striking or dismissing several gang and firearm enhancements. We agree this was error that resulted in an unauthorized sentence and thus is not forfeited on appeal. The trial court may stay an enhancement only when doing so is required by statute; it may not do so in the furtherance of justice or for other discretionary reasons. We accordingly remand with directions for the trial court to strike or dismiss rather than stay the Penal Code1 section 186.22, 12022.5, and 667, subdivision (a) enhancements or punishments therefor. The matter is otherwise affirmed. FACTUAL BACKGROUND This brief overview of the facts is based on those recited in the opinion in appellant’s direct appeal by a different panel of this court, People v. Montes ((May 21, 2015, B254824) [nonpub. opn.].

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 Around midnight on April 26, 2009, E.T.2 picked up his teenage daughter, B.T., and two of her friends from their high school prom. After dropping off the second of B.T.’s friends around 1:15 a.m., E.T. needed to make a left turn to exit the friend’s residential neighborhood, which happened to be in Rascals gang territory. E.T. saw a white BMW coming toward him and decided to let the car pass before turning. Instead of passing E.T.’s car, the BMW stopped alongside it, with the BMW driver’s open window directly across from E.T.’s open window. The driver, whom E.T. later identified as appellant, began yelling obscenities at E.T. Frightened, E.T. drove forward to pass the car and complete the left turn. He and B.T. then heard gunshots. Their car was riddled with approximately 13 bullets, and 21 nine-millimeter casings were later recovered from the scene. Ballistics analysis revealed that the casings came from two different semiautomatic firearms, though appellant was the only person E.T. and B.T. saw in the BMW. One of the bullets struck E.T. in the left leg, causing permanent damage and partial paralysis. B.T. was not physically injured. At trial, evidence established that appellant was a member of the Toonerville gang, which was a rival of the Rascals. An expert opined that a hypothetical shooting mirroring the facts of the case would have been committed to further the gang and promote gang activity.

2 We refer to the victims using initials to protect their privacy. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.90(b)(4).)

3 PROCEDURAL HISTORY I. Charges The People filed a four count-information against appellant on December 23, 2009. Count 1 charged appellant with the attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of E.T. (§§ 664, 187, subd. (a); count 1.) Count 2 charged appellant with assaulting B.T. with a semiautomatic firearm (§ 245, subd. (b)), and included an allegation that appellant personally used a semiautomatic firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)). Count 3 charged appellant with shooting at an occupied motor vehicle (§ 246), and count 4 charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon with two prior convictions (former § 12021, subd. (a)(1)). The information alleged that all four counts were committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang with the specific intent to promote, further, and assist in criminal conduct by gang members (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(C) [counts 1-3], § 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(A) [count 4]), and counts 1, 2, and 3 were subject to sentencing under section 186.22, subdivision (b)(4). The information further alleged as to counts 1 and 3 that a principal personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, proximately causing great bodily injury to E.T. (§ 12022.53, subds. (b)-(e)), and that appellant personally inflicted great bodily injury upon E.T. (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). The information additionally alleged that appellant suffered a prior strike conviction (§§ 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d), 667, subds. (b)-(i)), a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), and one-year prison prior (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). II. Conviction and Sentence Appellant proceeded to jury trial in July 2011. The court declared a mistrial after the jury reported a deadlock of 11–1 in

4 favor of guilt. The People elected to retry appellant, and a second trial commenced in July 2012. The jury rejected appellant’s alibi defense and found him guilty as charged. It also found all the enhancement allegations true, including the allegation that appellant personally used a firearm during the commission of the assault charged in count 2. Appellant waived his right to jury trial on the prior convictions and subsequently admitted them. After the second trial, appellant began representing himself and filed a motion for new trial. The trial court, Judge Anne Egerton, heard and denied the motion on February 10, 2014 and sentenced appellant the same day. The court sentenced appellant to seven years to life on count 1, doubled to 14 years to life due to the strike. The court also imposed a consecutive sentence of 25 years to life for the section 12022.53, subdivision (d) enhancement, and imposed and stayed sentences on the other enhancements on count 1. It also imposed five years for the prior serious felony conviction, bringing appellant’s total sentence on count 1 to five years plus 39 years to life. On count 2, the court selected the upper term of nine years “because of the victim’s vulnerability and because Mr. Montes was on federal parole, essentially, at the time of the crime.” The court doubled the sentence to 18 years due to the strike, and ordered it to run consecutively to the sentence on count 1. The court imposed a consecutive midterm sentence of four years for the section 12022.5 personal use enhancement, and additional consecutive terms of five years for the gang enhancement and prior serious felony convictions, bringing appellant’s total sentence on count 2 to 32 years. The court imposed and stayed midterm sentences on counts 3 and 4 and their related enhancements.

5 A different panel of this court affirmed appellant’s convictions on direct appeal. (People v. Montes (May 21, 2015, B254824) [nonpub. opn.].) Appellant did not challenge his sentence at that time. III. Resentencing A.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Montes CA2/4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-montes-ca24-calctapp-2023.