People v. Navarro

235 Cal. App. 3d 1144, 1 Cal. Rptr. 2d 245, 91 Daily Journal DAR 13522, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8876, 1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1267
California Court of Appeal·Decided October 31, 1991·No. No. F013772·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Opinion

BEST, P. J.

—When a defendant is sentenced for both armed and unarmed robbery convictions, does Penal Code1 section 1170.95, subdivision (g) [1147] impose a 10-year limit on all the consecutive subordinate terms for robbery or may subordinate terms for the unarmed robberies be imposed subject to a separate 5-year limit under section 1170.1, subdivision (a)? We will conclude the 10-year limit applies for all the robbery convictions and modify the judgment accordingly.

Statement of the Case

As pertinent to the appeal, defendant was convicted by jury of six counts of robbery with the use of a knife (§§ 212.5, subd. (b), 12022, subd. (b)), five counts of robbery (§ 212.5, subd. (b)), one count of attempted robbery (§§ 664/212.5), three counts of assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), and one misdemeanor count of giving false information to a police officer (§ 148.9, subd. (a)). In addition, the court found defendant had suffered a prior conviction of a serious felony (§ 667) and a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). Defendant initially pleaded guilty to numerous counts on the understanding the maximum allowable sentence was 12 years. Later the probation officer reported to the court that the potential maximum sentence was actually 20 years. Defendant was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and went to trial where he was convicted of the offenses set out above.

The trial court sentenced defendant as follows:

Principal term:

Count 1 Robbery 5-year upper term
with knife use 1 year
section 667.5, subdivision
(b) prior 1 year
section 667 prior 5 years
Subordinate term:
Five other robbery-with-knife-
use counts per section
1170.95, subdivision (g) 6 years, 8 months
Five counts of robbery per
section 1170.1, subdivision (a) 5 years
Total Term 23 years, 8 months

Sentences on the attempted-robbery and assault-with-a-deadly-weapon convictions were stayed. The court imposed a concurrent one-year jail term on the providing-false-information count.

[1148] Statement of Facts*

Discussion

I. When sentence is imposed for both armed and unarmed robbery convictions, does section 1170.95, subdivision (g) prescribe a 10-year limit on all the consecutive subordinate terms for robbery or may consecutive subordinate terms for the unarmed robberies be imposed subject to the 5-year limit of section 1170.1, subdivision (a)?

Defendant received a total of 11 years, 8 months in consecutive subordinate terms for all the robbery-related counts except the principal count He contends under section 1170.95, subdivision (g) the total consecutive subordinate term for the robberies was limited to 10 years because cumulative consecutive subordinate terms are not authorized under both section 1170.95, subdivision (g) and section 1170.1, subdivision (a). We must determine whether section 1170.95, subdivision (g)’s 10-year limitation on consecutive subordinate terms applies to all robbery convictions for which sentence is to be imposed, or whether in addition thereto consecutive subordinate terms for the unarmed robberies may be imposed subject only to section 1170.1, subdivision (a)’s 5-year limitation.

“The fundamental purpose of statutory construction is to ascertain the intent of lawmakers so as to effectuate the purpose of the law. [Citations.] In order to determine this intent, we begin by examining the language of the statute. [Citations.] . . . Finally, we do not construe statutes in isolation, but rather read every statute ‘with reference to the entire scheme of law of which it is part so that the whole may be harmonized and retain effectiveness.’ [Citation.]” (People v. Pieters (1991) 52 Cal.3d 894, 898-899 [276 Cal.Rptr. 918, 802 P.2d 420].)

Under the determinate sentencing scheme, section 1170.1, subdivision (a) imposes a five-year limit on the total subordinate terms for consecutive offenses that are not section 667.5, subdivision (c) “violent felonies.” Neither defendant’s armed robberies nor his unarmed robberies were “violent felonies.” Thus, absent an exception, section 1170.1, subdivision (a) would limit the total consecutive subordinate terms for all the robberies to five years.

[1149] However, certain subordinate terms have been statutorily excluded from the five-year limitation. Section 1170.95, subdivision (g) provides:

“When a consecutive term of imprisonment is imposed pursuant to Sections 669 and 1170 which involves two or more convictions for robbery where it is charged and found that in each of those robberies that the defendant personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon in the commission of that robbery, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 12022, and each of those robberies is not a violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, the aggregate term shall be calculated as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 1170.1, except that the subordinate term for each subsequent robbery conviction shall consist of one-third of the middle term of the imprisonment and one-third of the enhancement provided in subdivision (b) of Section 12022. Notwithstanding Section 1170.1, the total number of subordinate terms imposed under this subdivision may exceed five years but shall not exceed 10 years.”

Defendant submits, under section 1170.95, subdivision (g), section 1170.1, subdivision (a)’s five-year limit on subordinate terms for nonviolent felonies is increased to ten years when the defendant’s convictions involve two or more armed robberies. Thus, in such cases, section 1170.95, subdivision (g) supersedes section 1170.1, subdivision (a).

The People respond, such an interpretation is contrary to the language of the statute and its historical development. First, under the terms of section 1170.95, subdivision (g), when consecutive sentences are imposed on robberies which are accompanied by a knife-use enhancement, the subordinate term for each conviction consists of one-third of the middle term plus one-third of the enhancement. And the total of the subordinate consecutive terms “imposed under this subdivision may exceed five years but shall not exceed 10 years.”

The People submit that the subordinate terms for the unenhanced robberies cannot be computed by including one-third of the middle term and one-third of the enhancement because there is no enhancement. Further, the subordinate terms imposed for the unarmed robbery convictions were not ‘terms imposed under [section 1170.95, subdivision (g)].” Those subordinate terms were imposed under section 1170.1, subdivision (a). Thus, the argument goes, section 1170.95, subdivision (g), by its terms, does not apply to the unarmed robberies, and they are subject to an additional five-year limit under section 1170.1, subdivision (a).

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People v. Navarro, 235 Cal. App. 3d 1144, 1 Cal. Rptr. 2d 245, 91 Daily Journal DAR 13522, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8876, 1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1267 (Cal. Ct. App. 1991).

235 Cal. App. 3d 1144 (People v. Navarro) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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