People v. Silva CA2/7

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 3, 2025
DocketB337341
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Silva CA2/7 (People v. Silva CA2/7) 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. Silva CA2/7, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 7/3/25 P. v. Silva CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SEVEN

THE PEOPLE, B337341

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA103759) v.

LEONEL SILVA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Judith L. Meyer, Judge. Affirmed. Martin Velez, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Wyatt E. Bloomfield, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and William H. Shin, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _______________ In 2016 Leonel Silva pleaded guilty to seven counts of home invasion robbery and related counts, and the trial court sentenced him to 16 years in state prison, including a one-year prior prison term enhancement pursuant to Penal Code section 667.5, former subdivision (b).1 In 2024 the court recalled Silva’s sentence under section 1172.75, dismissed the prior prison term enhancement, and resentenced him to the same sentence less one year, resulting in a 15-year sentence. On appeal, Silva contends the trial court erred in reimposing the upper term of nine years on the principal robbery count because there was no finding by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt of aggravating circumstances (or stipulation by Silva) as required under section 1170, subdivision (b)(2) (section 1170(b)(2)). Silva argues the section 1170(b)(2) restriction applied because under section 1172.75, subdivision (d)(2), a trial court at resentencing must apply “any other changes in the law that reduce sentences.” We agree with the majority of the Courts of Appeal, which have held section 1172.75, subdivision (d)(4) (1172.75(d)(4)) creates an exception to the heightened factfinding requirements for upper term sentences in a section 1172.75 resentencing proceeding where the trial court originally sentenced the defendant to the upper term. (See People v. Mathis (2025) 111 Cal.App.5th 359 (Mathis); People v. Brannon-Thompson (2024) 104 Cal.App.5th 455 (Brannon-Thompson); contra, People v. Gonzalez (2024) 107 Cal.App.5th 312 (Gonzalez).) Silva also contends section 1172.75(d)(4), if interpreted to create an exception from the requirement for proof of aggravating

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 circumstances, violates his federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection by providing greater sentencing relief to new offenders than to prior offenders being resentenced under section 1172.75. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The Robbery, Plea, and Sentencing According to the probation report, on August 11, 2015 at approximately 5:50 a.m., seven members of the Aceves family were asleep at home when Silva and several other men forced their way into the home. The intruders forced many of the family members at gunpoint to lie on the floor, and the intruders bound the victims’ hands behind their backs with plastic zip ties. One victim was struck on the back of the head with the rifle, and another victim had the barrel of the rifle placed in his mouth. The intruders ransacked the two-story home before stealing one of the victims’ vehicles and fleeing. Law enforcement recovered an assault rifle and a handgun from Silva’s home. On May 5, 2016 Silva pleaded guilty to seven counts of home invasion robbery (§ 211; counts 1-7); two counts of assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2); counts 8 & 9); and possession of a firearm by a felon (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1); count 10). Silva admitted he had served one prior prison term within the meaning of former section 667.5, subdivision (b). On August 30, 2016 the trial court sentenced Silva to an aggregate term of 16 years in state prison, comprising the upper term of nine years on count 1 for robbery plus one year for his prison prior; consecutive terms of two years (one-third of the

3 middle term of six years) on counts 2, 3, and 4 for robbery; and concurrent lower terms on counts five through 10.

B. The Petition for Resentencing On February 5, 2024 Silva’s attorney filed a petition for recall and resentencing pursuant to section 1172.75.2 Silva requested the trial court strike the one-year prior prison term enhancement and provide a full resentencing hearing at which the court would apply all new ameliorative statutes, including sections 1170(b)(2) and 1385. At the February 5, 2024 resentencing hearing, Silva argued that under current law, the trial court could only impose the upper term if a jury has found aggravating circumstances true, absent a stipulation by the defendant. The prosecutor argued section 1172.75(d)(4) provided an exception from the aggravated- circumstance requirement where the upper term was initially imposed. The prosecutor further argued that even if proof of aggravating circumstances was necessary, Silva’s record of conviction showed he suffered a prior conviction. After reviewing the record, the trial court ruled, “Absolutely everything will be the same on that plea except the court will strike the one-year prior, the [section 667.5, former subdivision (b)] prior, and keep high term on count 1. [Silva] pled

2 It appears that in December 2022 Silva’s case was assigned to the trial court following identification of Silva as eligible for recall of sentence under section 1172.75. The record does not contain a notice from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation identifying Silva as eligible for resentencing, but a minute order states the matter was assigned to the court for resentencing on December 13, 2022.

4 to a prior so the court is taking his criminal record as a factor in aggravation and keeping the one-year prior.” The court sentenced Silva to 15 years in state prison. Silva timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

A. Section 1172.75 and Standard of Review “‘Prior to January 1, 2020, section 667.5, subdivision (b) required trial courts to impose a one-year sentence enhancement for each true finding on an allegation the defendant had served a separate prior prison term and had not remained free of custody for at least five years. [Citation.] Effective January 1, 2020, Senate Bill No. 136 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2019, ch. 590) . . . amended section 667.5 by limiting the prior prison term enhancement to only prior terms for sexually violent offenses. [Citations.] Enhancements based on prior prison terms served for other offenses became legally invalid.’” (People v. Garcia (2024) 101 Cal.App.5th 848, 854 (Garcia); accord, People v. Burgess (2022) 86 Cal.App.5th 375, 379-380.) The Legislature later enacted Senate Bill No. 483 (2021- 2022 Reg. Sess.), effective January 1, 2022, to make the changes implemented by Senate Bill No. 136 retroactive by adding former section 1171.1 (now section 1172.75). (See Stats. 2021, ch. 728, § 1 [“it is the intent of the Legislature to retroactively apply . . . Senate Bill 136 . . . to all persons currently serving a term of incarceration in jail or prison for these repealed sentence enhancements”]; Garcia, supra, 101 Cal.App.5th at pp. 854-855.) Section 1172.75, subdivision (a), provides, “Any sentence enhancement that was imposed prior to January 1, 2020,

5 pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 667.5, except for any enhancement imposed for a prior conviction for a sexually violent offense . . .

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Silva CA2/7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-silva-ca27-calctapp-2025.