People v. Bass CA2/4

Filed 10/15/24 P. v. Bass CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B330619

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA469156 v.

AMIR ALIRASHEE BASS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, James R. Dabney, Judge. Remanded in part with instructions, affirmed in all other respects. William J. Capriola, 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, Assistant Attorney General, Wyatt E. Bloomfield and Lindsay Boyd, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION In 2018, appellant Amir Bass entered an open plea of no contest to first degree burglary and was sentenced to three years of probation and a suspended sentence of 11 years in prison. In 2023, the trial court found appellant in violation of his probation, terminated probation, and imposed the 11-year prison sentence. The court denied appellant’s request to strike a five-year prior serious felony enhancement under Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a) (section 667(a)),1 stating that it did not believe it could revisit the sentence. Appellant argues that the trial court erroneously believed it lacked the discretion to strike the section 667(a) enhancement and therefore abused its discretion. We agree and therefore remand the matter to allow the trial court to properly exercise its independent discretion in sentencing appellant. BACKGROUND2 An information filed in 2018 charged appellant with two counts of first degree burglary with a person present (§ 459; counts one and two) and one count of grand theft of access card account information (§ 484e, subd. (d); count three). The information also alleged that appellant suffered a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(j), 1170.12), a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667(a)), and three prison priors (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). In response to appellant’s motion to set aside the information pursuant to section 995, the court dismissed count two and reduced count three to a misdemeanor.