People v. Nguyen

California Court of Appeal·Decided December 11, 2017·No. E066293·Published

Opinion

Filed 12/11/17

CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION*

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, E066293

v. (Super.Ct.Nos. RIF1301321, RIF1301886) DINH VAN NGUYEN, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Michael B. Donner,

Judge. Affirmed as modified in part, reversed in part, and remanded with directions.

John F. Schuck, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney

General, Julie L. Garland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal and

Minh U. Le, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

* Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rules 8.1105(b) and 8.1110, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of parts I.B and III.

1 Defendant Dinh Van Nguyen has a prior first degree burglary conviction which

qualifies as:

1. A “strike” prior (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12);

2. A one-year prior prison term enhancement (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)); and

3. A five-year prior serious felony conviction enhancement (Pen. Code, § 667,

subd. (a)).

The information in this case contained one paragraph alleging the fact of the prior

and citing the statute that defines a strike. It also contained a second paragraph realleging

the fact of the prior and citing the statute that defines a prior prison term enhancement.

However, it never specifically alleged — either in so many words or by citing the

relevant statute — a prior serious felony conviction enhancement.

Defendant admitted the fact of the prior; he did not expressly admit its legal effect.

Then, at sentencing, the trial court used the prior as a strike and as a prior serious felony

conviction enhancement. Defense counsel did not object.

The trial court erred by imposing the prior serious felony conviction enhancement.

Under Penal Code section 1170.1, subdivision (e), an enhancement must “be alleged in

the accusatory pleading . . . .” As construed by the Supreme Court, this requirement

cannot be satisfied merely by alleging the facts underlying an enhancement as the basis

for a substantive offense or for a different enhancement. Moreover, a violation of this

requirement results in an unauthorized sentence, and therefore defense counsel did not

forfeit the error.

2 I

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Case No. RIF1301321: Contracting-Related Crimes.

In case No. RIF1301321 (contracting case), after a jury trial, defendant was found

guilty of first degree burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 460, subd. (a)), grand theft (Pen. Code,

§ 487, subd. (a)), diversion of construction funds (Pen. Code, § 484b), fraudulent use of a

contractor’s license number (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7027.3), contracting without a license

(Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7028, subd. (a)), and charging an excessive down payment (Bus. &

Prof. Code, § 7159.5, subd. (a)(3)).

After waiving a jury, defendant admitted one prior serious and violent felony

conviction. As will be seen, the effect of this admission is disputed. He was sentenced to

a total of 17 years in prison.

B. Case No. RIF1301886: Criminal Threat.

In case No. RIF1301886 (threat case), defendant pleaded guilty to one count of

making a criminal threat. (Pen. Code, § 422, subd. (a).) He admitted one prior serious

felony enhancement (Pen. Code, § 667, subd. (a)), but the trial court struck this at

sentencing. He was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, to be served

consecutively to his sentence in the contracting case.

3 II

THE INFORMATION DID NOT ADEQUATELY ALLEGE

A PRIOR SERIOUS FELONY CONVICTION ENHANCEMENT

Defendant contends that the trial court erred by imposing a prior serious felony

conviction enhancement (Pen. Code, § 667, subd. (a)), because this particular

enhancement had not been either alleged or admitted.

A. Additional Factual and Procedural Background.

The information in the contracting case contained two prior conviction allegations.

First, it alleged that on June 9, 2004, defendant was convicted of first degree

burglary, and that he had served a prior prison term for this offense, “within the meaning

of Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b).”

Second, it alleged that on June 9, 2004, defendant was convicted of first degree

burglary, “a serious and violent felony . . . within the meaning of Penal Code sections

667, subdivisions (c) and (e)(1), and 1170.12, subdivision (c)(1).”

After a jury found defendant guilty, he agreed to admit the priors. In response to

the prosecutor’s questioning, he admitted that: (1) he had a 2004 conviction for first

degree burglary; (2) first degree burglary was a serious felony; and (3) he had been

sentenced to six years for this and other crimes.

During the admission colloquy, the prosecutor repeatedly represented to the trial

court that what defendant was admitting was a “nickel prior” “under Penal Code section

667(a).” Defense counsel did not disagree or object.

4 At sentencing, the trial court doubled the term on each felony count pursuant to

the three strikes law. This discussion ensued:

“[THE COURT:] As to the 667.5(b), the prison prior, the defendant is sentenced

to one year in state prison.

“[THE PROSECUTOR]: I do apologize. I think there’s a typo on the

[i]nformation. It’s a nickel prior under 667(a), because the strike is a serious offense, and

the current offense is a serious offense.

“THE COURT: It’s five?

“[THE PROSECUTOR]: It’s a nick[el] prior.

“THE COURT: There was a typo in what I received.

“[THE PROSECUTOR]: I apologize.

“THE COURT: For the 667.5(a) [sic], referred to as the nick[el] prior, the

defendant is sentenced to five years in state prison . . . .”

Once again, defense counsel did not object.

B. Merits.

Penal Code section 1170.1, subdivision (e) provides that: “All enhancements shall

be alleged in the accusatory pleading and either admitted by the defendant in open court

or found to be true by the trier of fact.”

People v. Mancebo (2002) 27 Cal.4th 735, although not precisely on point, is the

most relevant Supreme Court case. There, the defendant was charged with forcible sex

offenses against each of two victims. It was further alleged that he was subject to

5 sentencing under the “One Strike” law based on, among other things, the use of a firearm.

(Pen. Code, § 667.61, former subd. (e)(4); see now id., subd. (e)(3).) Finally, it was

alleged that, in the commission of the sexual offenses, he personally used a firearm.

(Pen. Code, § 12022.5, subd. (a).) (Mancebo, supra, at p. 740; see also id. at pp. 742–

743.) He was found guilty as charged, and all enhancement allegations were found true.

(Id. at p. 740.)

At sentencing, the trial court recognized that it could not impose both firearm use

enhancements and One Strike sentencing based on firearm use. (People v. Mancebo,

supra, 27 Cal.4th at p. 740, citing Pen. Code, § 667.61, subd. (f).) Nevertheless, it

imposed the firearm use enhancements, and it imposed One Strike sentencing based on

multiple victims; it reasoned that the jury had necessarily found that there were multiple

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