The People v. LaPierre

Filed 7/3/13 (opn. on rehearing) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B239304 (Super. Ct. No. CR30388) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

ANTHONY STANISLAUS LAPIERRE,

Defendant and Appellant.

The California trial court sentences defendant to prison, the sentence to run consecutively to a federal sentence that was imposed previously. Thereafter, appeals in the federal and the state courts result in remands to the respective trial courts for resentencing. The sequence of judgments in the federal and state courts does not change, but the state appellate court reduces defendant's sentence. Under these circumstances, the power of the state trial court to impose a consecutive sentence does not change. Anthony Stanislaus LaPierre appeals an order denying his motion to require the state court to order his sentence to be served concurrently to his federal sentence. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND LaPierre committed numerous armed bank robberies in Hawaii and California. In April 1992, he suffered his first conviction for these crimes when a state court in Hawaii sentenced him to 8 to 20 years in prison.

In May 1992, a federal district court in Hawaii sentenced LaPierre to more than 27 years in prison for several other robberies, to be served concurrently "with any sentence [LaPierre] is presently serving." LaPierre was then in state custody in Hawaii. In February 1993, the Ventura County trial court sentenced LaPierre to 20 years in prison for other robberies, to "run consecutive[ly] to any Federal time, and any time imposed in the State of Hawaii." Later that year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the original federal judgment and remanded with directions. In 1993, the federal district court reinstated the convictions and resentenced LaPierre to more than 22 years in prison, again ordering the sentence "to run concurrently with any sentence [La Pierre] is presently serving." LaPierre remained in state custody in Hawaii. The district court judge ordered that the judgment "reflect the same words as [he had] previously given with respect to concurrent as to any sentence which [LaPierre] may now be serving." In 1994, we modified the California judgment and directed the trial court to correct sentencing regarding the firearm enhancements. (People v. LaPierre (April 29, 2003, B239304) [nonpub. opn.].) The trial court amended the abstract of judgment, again ordering that sentence "run consecutive[ly] to any Federal time, and any time imposed in the State of Hawaii." In 1998, Hawaii released LaPierre on parole and he was transferred to the United States Bureau of Prisons to serve his federal term. In 2012, LaPierre filed a motion to "correct" the California judgment so that his California sentence would be served concurrently with his federal sentence. He argued that he should have been transferred in 1998 from Hawaii state custody to California state custody, where his federal sentence would be served concurrently. He argued that in April 2012, when his federal sentence concluded, he should have been released and not transferred to California state prison to begin his 20-year term. The trial court denied the motion.