People v. Arenas CA4/1

Filed 11/1/24 P. v. Arenas CA4/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D083106

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCS303353)

JEREMY ARENAS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Dwayne K. Moring, Judge. Affirmed. Jill Kent, under the 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, Daniel Rogers, Sharon L. Rhodes and Alana Cohen Butler, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

The trial court declined to exercise its discretionary authority under

Penal Code section 1385 to strike a five-year sentencing enhancement.1 Defendant Jeremy Arenas claims this was an abuse of discretion because the court failed to state on the record whether dismissing the enhancement would endanger public safety, an analysis required by the statute. But having failed to raise this issue to the trial court, he has forfeited it on appeal. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2019, a jury convicted Arenas of robbery (count 1, § 211), making a criminal threat (count 2, § 442), and attempting to prevent or dissuade a witness from testifying (count 3, § 136.1, subd. (a)(2)). The jury found true the allegation that Arenas inflicted great bodily injury on the victim of the robbery. (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)). Before sentencing, Arenas admitted that he had the following: three strike priors (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 668, 1170.12); two prior serious felony convictions that each carried a consecutive five-year sentencing enhancement, so-called “nickel priors” (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)); and two prison priors that each carried a consecutive one-year enhancement (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). After dismissing two of Arenas’s strike priors and one of his prison priors, the court sentenced him to a total prison term of 22 years four months. This sentence was broken down into an aggregate 11-year four- month term on counts 1 through 3, a consecutive one-year term for Arenas’s remaining prison prior, and two consecutive five-year terms for his two nickel priors.