People v. Hoff CA2/8

Filed 2/13/26 P. v. Hoff CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B339399

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA072363-01 v.

STEVEN HOFF,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Daniel Feldstern, Judge. Affirmed. Diane E. Berley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________ After reviewing this appeal pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende), we affirm. Undesignated statutory citations refer to the Penal Code. In July 2015, a jury found Steven Hoff guilty of the attempted premeditated murders of Officers Miguel Lopez and

Henrik Agasyan, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The jury also found true the allegations that Hoff personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, caused great bodily harm to Lopez, and reasonably should have known Lopez and Agasyan were peace officers lawfully performing their duties. Hoff’s case then proceeded to a bench trial as to his earlier convictions, where the court found true the allegations that he suffered convictions for robbery in February 1989, felony criminal threats in April 2005, and attempted burglary in April 2010. At Hoff’s sentencing in September 2015, his lawyer asked the court to exercise its discretion to disregard his earlier strike convictions under People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero), arguing that the robbery conviction was too remote to be relevant, and that his criminal threats conviction was not violent. Citing the probation report’s description of Hoff’s lengthy criminal history, which began in 1985 and “continued relatively unabated” for the next twenty-seven years, the court denied Hoff’s Romero motion. The court then found the robbery and criminal threats convictions to be “strikes” under the Three Strikes Law that would subject Hoff to increased prison sentences for his most recent convictions. The court proceeded to sentence Hoff to a total term of 140 years to life, plus 53 years, as follows: