People v. Solorio CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 24, 2024
DocketF084298
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Solorio CA5 (People v. Solorio CA5) 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. Solorio CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed 5/24/24 P. v. Solorio CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, F084298 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F18904920) v.

FRANCISCO JAVIER SOLORIO, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Adolfo M. Corona, Judge. J. Edward Jones, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Michael A. Canzoneri and Heather S. Gimle, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Peña, Acting P. J., Meehan, J. and DeSantos, J. Defendant Francisco Javier Solorio assaulted a fellow inmate while he was serving a prison sentence for a first degree murder conviction. After this court reversed defendant’s sentence for the assault, defendant was resentenced and awarded 2,582 days of custody credits. Defendant contends the trial court incorrectly calculated his custody credits because he was not awarded actual time credits or conduct credits through his resentencing date for the assault. Defendant requests the matter be remanded for the trial court to recalculate custody credits and to amend the abstract of judgment to show his sentence for both cases. The People agree the trial court incorrectly calculated defendant’s custody credits and the matter must be remanded to recalculate his credits. The People argue, though, that defendant’s conduct credits must be calculated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), not by the trial court. We conclude the trial court incorrectly sentenced defendant by failing to merge defendant’s two sentences into a single aggregate sentence and shall therefore vacate defendant’s sentence. Upon remand to the trial court for resentencing, the court must recalculate defendant’s custody credits. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY1 On July 29, 2015, defendant was convicted of murder (Pen. Code,2 § 187, subd. (a)) with a firearm enhancement (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)) in Imperial County case

1 Parts of the background are incorporated from our nonpublished opinion in defendant’s prior direct appeal in this case, People v. Solorio (Oct. 13, 2021, F081602) (Solorio I), which defendant relies upon in presenting his statement of the case. We construe defendant’s reliance on our prior opinion as a request for judicial notice. Because that opinion is relevant to the procedural background of this case, and because the People do not object to consideration of that opinion, the request for judicial notice is granted. (Evid. Code, §§ 452, subd. (d), 459, subds. (a)–(c).) Other facts and procedural history are drawn from the probation officer’s reports. The facts related to defendant’s underlying convictions are omitted because they are not relevant to the issues raised on appeal. 2 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2. No. JCF30660 (the Imperial County case), and was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison. On May 2, 2017, while serving his prison term, defendant assaulted another inmate. On November 16, 2017, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed defendant’s murder conviction in the Imperial County case and remanded the case back to the trial court for a new trial. (People v. Solorio (2017) 17 Cal.App.5th 398.) On April 3, 2018, defendant was reportedly released from custody, but was rearrested that same day pending a new trial and placed in county jail. On July 24, 2018, the Fresno County District Attorney filed a complaint in the present case (the Fresno County case), case No. F18904920, charging defendant with assault with a deadly weapon by a prisoner (§ 4501, subd. (a); count 1). The complaint further alleged defendant had suffered a prior strike conviction within the meaning of the “Three Strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)). On May 22, 2019, the murder charge in the Imperial County case was amended to voluntary manslaughter (§ 192, subd. (a)). Defendant was sentenced to 18 years in state prison for this offense.3 On June 7, 2019, defendant started his new prison term.4 On January 31, 2020, defendant pled no contest in the Fresno County case to an amended charge of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury by a prisoner (§ 4501, subd. (b)). Defendant also admitted the prior strike allegation. On August 10, 2020, the trial court sentenced defendant to four years (two years doubled for the prior strike). The court ordered the sentence to be served consecutively to the sentence for defendant’s Imperial County case.

3 Our prior opinion inadvertently states the sentence was for an indeterminate term of “18 years to life,” but as the probation officer’s report reflects, and as the parties agree, the sentence was for a determinate term of 18 years. (Solorio I, supra, F081602.) 4 The record for the Imperial County case, including the abstract of judgment, is not part of the record before this court.

3. Defendant appealed his sentence for the Fresno County case arguing the trial court should have sentenced him pursuant to section 1170.1, subdivision (a) instead of section 1170.1, subdivision (c). On October 13, 2021, in Solorio I, this court agreed with defendant, vacated his sentence, and remanded the matter for resentencing. (Solorio I, supra, F081602.) Upon remand, the trial court held a resentencing hearing on March 10, 2022. Defendant raised the issue of time credits “from the last sentencing.” The court continued the hearing to obtain an updated calculation of defendant’s credits from the probation officer. On March 29, 2022, the probation officer issued a supplemental report recommending zero days of time credit for defendant. The report stated in pertinent part: “As the defendant is still a sentenced prisoner, serving an 18-year term in Imperial County, pursuant to [section 2900.5, subd. (b)], he is not entitled to time credits.” The trial court discussed the report with the parties at a sentencing hearing on April 7, 2022. Defendant argued he was entitled to credit for the period from the assault on May 2, 2017, through when he returned to prison on June 7, 2019. The court again continued the hearing to provide time for probation to research the issue. The probation officer prepared another supplemental report on April 12, 2022. The report stated in relevant part: “One period of presentence custody may be applied only once to multiple offenses for which consecutive sentences are ordered. [Section 2900.5, subd. (b)]; People v. Adrian (1987) 191 Cal.App.3d 868, 876–877 [(Adrian)]; People v. Esparza (1986) 185 Cal.App.3d 458, 469. As such, additional custody credits awarded in this matter would be considered duplicate credit.” The report went on to state that if the court elected to award defendant additional time credits, he would be entitled to 309 days of actual time from August 2, 2018, the date of the order of production, through June 6, 2019, the date before defendant began serving his prison term for the Imperial County case, and 308 days for good time/work time.

4. On April 21, 2022, the trial court continued the sentencing hearing again and ordered probation to communicate with CDCR about time credits and appear at the next hearing. On May 3, 2022, the trial court held another resentencing hearing.

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People v. Solorio CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-solorio-ca5-calctapp-2024.