People v. Ruiz

Filed 9/5/24

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G062596

v. (Super. Ct. No. 08WF0147)

IGNACIO RUIZ, JR., OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Jonathan S. Fish, Judge. Reversed. Paul R. Kraus, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Randall D. Einhorn and Susan Elizabeth Miller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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In August 2010, Defendant Ignacio Ruiz, Jr., was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes he committed at the age of 16. In March 2023, Ruiz filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170, subdivision (d). This statute allows persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as minors to petition for resentencing after they have “been incarcerated for at least 15 years.” (Pen. Code, § 1170, subd. (d)(1)(A).)1 The trial court calculated Ruiz’s period of incarceration based on the date of his sentencing, found he had not yet been incarcerated for 15 years, and denied the petition on its face. On appeal, Ruiz contends the court miscalculated the length of his incarceration. He asserts he became incarcerated in January 2008, when he was taken into custody for the charges underlying his life sentence. Thus, he had already been incarcerated for 15 years when he petitioned for relief in March 2023. The Attorney General agrees with Ruiz’s argument, and so do we. As such, the court’s order is reversed. We publish this case since there does not appear to be any authority interpreting the meaning of “incarcerated” in section 1170, subdivision (d)(1)(A). STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In January 2008, Ruiz participated in an attack on rival gang members, which killed one person. Ruiz was 16 years old at the time. A jury found him guilty of first degree murder, attempted murder, and street terrorism. Several gang and firearm enhancements and special circumstance allegations were also found to be true.