People v. Ramirez CA4/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 9, 2026
DocketE085350
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Ramirez CA4/2 (People v. Ramirez CA4/2) 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. Ramirez CA4/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

Filed 4/9/26 P. v. Ramirez CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, E085350

v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF1605001)

PEDRO PAREDES RAMIREZ, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Matthew C. Perantoni,

Judge. Affirmed with directions.

Cynthia M. Jones, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General,

Arlene A. Sevidal, Daniel Rogers, and Vincent P. LaPietra, Deputy Attorneys General,

for Plaintiff and Respondent.

1 INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Pedro Paredes Ramirez was resentenced after retrial, and

the trial court increased the restitution fine under Penal Code1 section 1202.4,

subdivision (b), from the original amount of $300 to $10,000. The court also failed to

recalculate his custody credits. Defendant now appeals. The People concede, and we

agree, that the matter should be remanded for the court to correct the amount of the

restitution fine and recalculate the custody credits. We affirm with directions.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2018, following his waiver to the right to a jury trial, the trial court found

defendant guilty of nine crimes.2 (People v. Ramirez (May 21, 2020, E072111) [nonpub.

opn.] (Ramirez I).)3 On January 25, 2019, the court sentenced him to six years plus

89 years to life, plus life without the possibility of parole. The court gave him a total of

963 days of credit for time served and ordered him to pay a restitution fine of $300,

pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b). (Ramirez I, E072111.)

Defendant appealed, and this court reversed the judgment since the record did not

affirmatively show that he voluntarily waived his right to a jury trial; however, we held

1 All further statutory references will be to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

2 The specific convictions and allegations are not relevant to the issues in this appeal.

3 On our own motion, we take judicial notice of our prior unpublished opinion in Ramirez I. (Evid. Code, §§ 452, subd. (d), 459.)

2 that he may be retried on all charges and special allegations. (Ramirez I, supra,

E072111.)

Defendant was retried, and a jury convicted him on all charges and found true

special circumstance allegations. (People v. Ramirez (July 9, 2024, E077359) [nonpub.

opn.] (Ramirez II).)4 On July 2, 2021, the court sentenced him to a determinate sentence

of six years plus 89 years to life, plus life without the possibility of parole. The court

ordered him to pay $10,000 for the restitution fine under section 1202.4, subdivision (b),

and gave him a total of 1,903 days of custody credits (1,727 actual and 176 conduct).5

Defendant appealed again, resulting in this court affirming the convictions, but

remanding for a full resentencing to apply an amended ameliorative statute. (Ramirez II,

supra, E077359.)6

On December 10, 2024, the court resentenced defendant and essentially imposed

the same sentence; except on count 4, it imposed the midterm of four years instead of the

upper term of six years. The court stated the restitution and order as to fines and fees

4 On our own motion, we take judicial notice of our prior unpublished opinion in Ramirez II. (Evid. Code, §§ 452, subd. (d), 459.)

5 We note an error in the amended abstract of judgment, which states in section 13 that defendant had 1,179 days of local time and 548 days in state prison, plus 176 days of conduct credit, for a total of 1,903 days of credits; however, the chart/box on the abstract incorrectly lists 1,179 actual days and 548 conduct days.

6 We issued an opinion in this appeal, and the California Supreme Court granted review and returned the matter to us with instructions to reconsider in light of its decision in In re Vaquera (2024) 1 Cal.5th 706 (Vaquera). After reconsideration of Vaquera and the parties’ supplemental briefs, we reached the same disposition as set forth in the original opinion. (Ramirez II, supra, E077359.)

3 would remain the same. The amended abstract of judgment that issued reflected the same

credits for time served as the previous abstract.

DISCUSSION

I. The Increased Restitution Fine Violates Double Jeopardy

Defendant argues, and the People concede, that the $10,000 restitution fine the

court imposed violates double jeopardy, and the matter must be remanded for the court to

vacate the fine and impose the original restitution fine amount of $300.7 We agree.

In 1963, the Supreme Court decided People v. Henderson (1963) 60 Cal.2d 482

(Henderson). “That case held that under article I, section 13, of the California

Constitution a capital defendant sentenced to life imprisonment at his first trial cannot

receive the death penalty upon retrial after a successful appeal.” (People v. Jones (1994)

24 Cal.App.4th 1780, 1783 (Jones); Henderson, at p. 497.) “‘The Henderson holding

was not confined to invalidation of a death sentence after reversal of a judgment

imposing a life sentence; it was applied to any case in which a more severe sentence is

sought to be imposed on retrial.’” (Jones, at p. 1783.) The Supreme Court subsequently

stated that “[w]hen a defendant successfully appeals a criminal conviction, California’s

constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy precludes the imposition of more

severe punishment on resentencing.” (People v. Hanson (2000) 23 Cal.4th 355, 357

(Hanson).) It also concluded that statutorily mandated restitution fines “constitute

7 “Although defendant arguably has forfeited the claim of error because he did not object to the sentence below, we will reach the issue because he also contends his attorney was ineffective.” (People v. Daniels (2012) 208 Cal.App.4th 29, 31 (Daniels).)

4 punishment and [found there was] no principled basis for excluding them from the

rationale of Henderson.” (Ibid.; see Jones, supra, 24 Cal.App.4th at p. 1785; see also

Daniels, supra, 208 Cal.App.4th at pp. 31-32.)

As relevant here, “[a] restitution fine under section 1202.4 constitutes punishment.

[Citation.] It is required in ‘every case where a person is convicted of a crime’ unless the

court ‘finds compelling and extraordinary reasons for not doing so and states those

reasons on the record.’ [Citation.] For felony convictions, the required fine is not less

than $300 and not more than $10,000.” (People v. Kopp (2025) 19 Cal.5th 1, 13, italics

omitted; § 1202.4, subd. (b)(1).)

After defendant’s first trial, the trial court imposed a restitution fine of $300

pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b). Defendant appealed and was retried.

After the second trial, the court imposed a restitution fine of $10,000 pursuant to

section 1202.4, subdivision (b). Defendant appealed again, and on remand for

resentencing, the court stated the restitution and order as to fines and fees would remain

the same, and it did not modify the custody credits. Thus, the amended abstract of

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Related

People v. Henderson
386 P.2d 677 (California Supreme Court, 1963)
People v. Thompson
76 Cal. Rptr. 2d 267 (California Court of Appeal, 1998)
People v. Jones
24 Cal. App. 4th 1780 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
People v. Buckhalter
25 P.3d 1103 (California Supreme Court, 2001)
People v. Grimes
378 P.3d 320 (California Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. Hanson
1 P.3d 650 (California Supreme Court, 2000)
People v. Daniels
208 Cal. App. 4th 29 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)

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People v. Ramirez CA4/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ramirez-ca42-calctapp-2026.