People v. Triplett

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 8, 2016
DocketC078492
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Triplett (People v. Triplett) 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. Triplett, (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Filed 2/8/16 CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION*

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sutter) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078492

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. CRF140901, CRF140664) v.

CHRISTOPHER DAVID TRIPLETT,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Sutter County, Susan E. Green, Judge. Reversed with directions.

Anne V. Moore, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Eric L. Christoffersen, Ward A. Campbell, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

* Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rules 8.1105 and 8.1110, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of part II.

1 Defendant Christopher David Triplett appeals from partial denial of his petition to recall his sentence and reduce certain felonies to misdemeanors pursuant to Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (the Act). He contends his two convictions for second degree burglary should be reduced to misdemeanors and the trial court erred in relying on facts outside the record and misunderstood the law. He further contends, for the first time on appeal, that two of his one-year prior prison term enhancements (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b))1 should be stricken. In the published portion of this opinion, we conclude that in determining a defendant‟s eligibility for resentencing under the Act, the trial court may consider, in addition to the record of conviction, any facts the parties clearly agree to, as long as such facts only augment, and do not contradict or otherwise detract from, the record of conviction. Here, considering the additional facts agreed to by the parties, we find defendant has established eligibility for resentencing as to one of his two second degree burglary convictions. This requires us to reverse the trial court‟s order declining to find eligibility as to this prior conviction, and remand for additional proceedings. We decline to strike defendant‟s prior prison term enhancements, however, because the Act does not apply retroactively. BACKGROUND Defendant’s 2014 Convictions On June 4, 2014, two informations charging defendant were filed in Sutter County Superior Court. The information in case No. CRF-14-0664 (No. 0664), relating to events of February 27, 2014, charged defendant with second degree burglary (§ 459), identity theft (§ 530.5), passing a fictitious check (§ 476), and forgery (§ 470, subd. (d)), all with

1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 an on-bail enhancement (§ 12022.1). It further alleged that defendant had eight prior prison terms. (§ 667.5, subd. (b).) The information in case No. CFR-14-0901 (No. 0901) related to events on February 16, 2014, and February 19, 2014. It charged defendant with two counts of second degree burglary (§ 459), two counts of passing a fictitious check (§ 476), and two counts of forgery (§ 470, subd. (d)), all with an on-bail enhancement (§ 12022.1). It was alleged that defendant had eight prior prison terms. (§ 667.5, subd. (b).) The parties negotiated a resolution and defendant executed plea agreements in both cases. (CT 24-45) In case No. 0664, defendant agreed to plead to one count of second degree burglary and admit four prior prison terms.2 The factual basis for the burglary was stated as: “In Sutter County, California, on 2/27/2014[,] the defendant entered Wells Fargo on Stabler Lane in Yuba City with the intent to commit a theft [therein] with a fraudulent check.” In case No. 0901, defendant agreed to plead to one count of second degree burglary (§ 459) and one count of passing an altered or fictitious check (§ 476). The factual basis for the plea was: “In Sutter County, California, on 02/26/2014[,] the defendant did enter SR Food and Liquor with the intent to commit a

2 As both parties note, there are disparities between the prison terms defendant admitted in the plea form and those he admitted orally at the plea proceeding. In the plea agreement for case No. 0664, defendant admitted four prior prison terms: a 1997 conviction of Health & Safety Code section 11378; a 2001 conviction of Health & Safety Code section 11383, subdivision (c)(1); a 2004 conviction of Penal Code section 475, subdivision (c); and a 2009 conviction of Health & Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a). At the plea proceeding, defendant admitted the first two, but not the second two. Instead, he admitted a 2002 conviction for Health & Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a) and a 2013 conviction for the same crime. The court sentenced defendant on the prior prison term enhancements in accordance with the plea agreement. Neither party challenges this disparity. We urge the court and parties to pay closer attention to detail in these proceedings involving multiple prior convictions. Mistakes such as these can be critical, although we do not consider their effect unless asked to do so.

3 theft therein and while inside SR Food and Liquor the defendant did cash a fraudulent check from Butte [C]ommunity [Bank].”3 The court sentenced defendant to a split term of eight years four months, four years to be served in custody and four years four months on mandatory supervision. Petition to Recall Sentence In November 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The Act “makes certain drug- and theft-related offenses misdemeanors, unless the offenses were committed by certain ineligible defendants.” (People v. Rivera (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1085, 1091 (Rivera).) It created a new crime of shoplifting, “defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).” (§ 459.5, subd. (a).) Shoplifting is punishable as a misdemeanor unless the defendant has certain disqualifying prior convictions. (Ibid.) The Act also provided a procedure under section 1170.18, subdivision (a) for a defendant serving a sentence for a felony that would be a misdemeanor under the Act to petition the court for recall of sentence. After the passage of the Act, defendant wrote the trial court (in propria persona) requesting that his cases be brought back to court to apply Proposition 47 for reduction of his sentence. In response, the court set a hearing and appointed counsel for defendant. The People took the position that neither of defendant‟s two burglary convictions qualified for resentencing under the Act.

3 The date alleged in count 1 for the burglary is February 16, 2014, and the date alleged in count 5 for the fictitious check charge is February 19, 2014. Neither count references the February 26, 2014 date. This date appears to be one of multiple typos contained in the plea agreement.

4 At the hearing, the court stated it would first hear from the People because they had filed an objection.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Triplett, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-triplett-calctapp-2016.