People v. Ruiz

82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 139, 69 Cal. App. 4th 1085, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1317, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1045, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 100
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 8, 1999
DocketB115222
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 139 (People v. Ruiz) 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. Ruiz, 82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 139, 69 Cal. App. 4th 1085, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1317, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1045, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 100 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Opinion

COFFEE, J.

A jury convicted appellant Gabriel Ruiz of one count of second degree robbery and determined that he had personally used a knife in the commission of that offense. (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c), 12022, subd. (b)(1).) 1 Allegations that appellant had suffered a prior serious felony conviction were found true in a bifurcated court trial. (§§ 667, subd. (a)(1) *1088 [five-year enhancement], 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d) [“Three Strikes” law].) Appellant was sentenced to eleven years in prison: the three-year middle term for the robbery conviction, doubled pursuant to the Three Strikes allegation, plus a five-year enhancement under section 667, subdivision (a)(1). We affirm.

Facts

Rosa Garcia was walking to the grocery store with her mother when she was approached by appellant and another man. Appellant pointed a knife at Garcia’s stomach while the other man grabbed her purse and ran away. Appellant, who had a limp, also fled. Garcia had about $200 in her purse.

Garcia and her mother followed appellant for about three-quarters of a mile. He circled around and returned to the area where the purse was taken. During their pursuit, Garcia saw appellant throw something into a trash can. She looked inside and recovered the knife used in the robbery.

The chase ended when appellant went inside a liquor store and Garcia called 911 from an outside pay phone. Appellant walked outside carrying a beer and was detained by Garcia’s mother and a male bystander. While they were waiting for the police to arrive, appellant told the women that he would give them a photograph of the man who had taken the purse if they let him go. He also said that another person would make them sorry if he was not released.

Appellant testified at trial and denied any involvement in the robbery. He claimed that as he was leaving the liquor store, a man he did not know asked him for a cigarette and change. After appellant refused both requests, the man grabbed something from Garcia or her mother as the two of them walked by. Garcia’s mother apparently believed that appellant knew the man. She told appellant that if he did not help them get the purse back, she would tell the police that appellant was the thief. Appellant waited for the police because he had nothing to hide.

Appellant acknowledged that the knife Garcia recovered from the trash can, was his. He testified that he had placed it there because he was a convicted felon and was worried that he would get in trouble if the police found it in his possession.

*1089 Discussion

I.

The True Findings on the Prior Conviction Allegations Are Supported by Substantial Evidence

The allegations that appellant had suffered a prior conviction under the Three Strikes law and section 667, subdivision (a) were both based on his 1985 conviction for aggravated assault under section 245, subdivision (a)(1). Appellant contends that this conviction did not qualify as a serious or violent felony and should not have been used to increase his sentence. We disagree.

A.

Section 667, subdivision (a)(1) requires a five-year sentence enhancement when a defendant convicted of a “serious felony” offense listed in section 1192.7, subdivision (c) has been previously convicted of a serious felony. Section 1170.12 (the Three Strikes law) provides for an increased sentence when a defendant convicted of any felony has been previously convicted of either a serious felony under section 1192.7, subdivision (c) or a “violent felony” under section 667.5, subdivision (c). The lists of serious and violent felonies include both specific, enumerated crimes and descriptions of criminal conduct. (See People v. Cruz (1996) 13 Cal.4th 764, 772 [55 Cal.Rptr.2d 117, 919 P.2d 731]; People v. Guerrero (1988) 44 Cal.3d 343, 347-348 [243 Cal.Rptr. 688, 748 P.2d 1150].)

Aggravated assault is not an enumerated offense under either section 1192.7 or section 667.5. It can qualify as a serious or violent felony if the conduct underlying the conviction fits one of the descriptions of criminal conduct contained within those statutes. An assault will be treated as a serious felony when “the defendant personally inflict[ed] great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice, or . . . personally use[d] a firearm” (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)), or “personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon” (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(23)). It will be treated as a violent felony when the defendant “inflict[ed] great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice which has been charged and proved as provided for in Section 12022.7 or . . . use[d] a firearm which has been charged and proved as provided in Section 12022.5, 12022.53, or 12022.55.” (§ 667.5, subd. (c)(8); see People v. Rodriguez (1998) 17 Cal.4th 253, 261 [70 Cal.Rptr.2d 334, 949 P.2d 31].)

*1090 The trier of fact may review the entire record of conviction in the prior case to determine whether an assault involved conduct making it a serious or violent felony. (People v. Woodell (1998) 17 Cal.4th 448, 453 [71 Cal.Rptr.2d 241, 950 P.2d 85]; People v. Reed (1996) 13 Cal.4th 217, 222-223 [52 Cal.Rptr.2d 106, 914 P.2d 184].) Prison records certified under section 969b are also admissible to prove that the defendant was convicted of a particular offense. 2 (People v. Dunlap (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 1468, 1476 [23 Cal.Rptr.2d 204].)

B.

The parties agree that appellant’s 1985 conviction for aggravated assault may not be used as a “strike” or as the basis for a five-year enhancement if it does not fit one of the conduct-related criteria of section 1192.7 or 667.5. The Attorney General claims that appellant’s prior assault conviction qualifies for such treatment because it was accompanied by a great bodily injury enhancement under section 12022.7. Such an enhancement is sufficient to prove that a prior assault involved conduct which renders it a serious and violent felony. (§§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), 667.5, subd. (c)(8); People v. Milosavljevic (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 811, 815-818 [65 Cal.Rptr.2d 562].)

Ordinarily it is an easy matter to show that a prior assault conviction was accompanied by a section 12022.7 enhancement. The difficulty here is that the abstract of judgment in the 1985 assault case is partially illegible. The abstract clearly indicates that appellant was convicted of violating section 245, subdivision (a)(1) (described in the abstract as “Asset GBI W/Dly Wpn”), and that he received the two-year lower term for this offense.

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

Related

People v. Sanchez CA2/4
California Court of Appeal, 2025
People v. Mejorado CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2014
People v. Nelson CA1/5
California Court of Appeal, 2014
People v. McCowan CA1/3
California Court of Appeal, 2014
People v. Vega
214 Cal. App. 4th 1387 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
Yanez v. SOMA Environmental Engineering, Inc.
185 Cal. App. 4th 1313 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Florez
33 Cal. Rptr. 3d 632 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
People v. Banuelos
30 Cal. Rptr. 3d 315 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 139, 69 Cal. App. 4th 1085, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1317, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1045, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ruiz-calctapp-1999.