People v. Melton

Opinion

THE COURT.

*

These appeals by codefendants Ronald David Melton and Sheri McAllister present but a single question for determination: the effect of the trial court’s failure to advise them, at the time they pleaded guilty, that such a plea would subject them to a virtually mandatory restitution fine. We determine that defendants are entitled to no relief and affirm the judgment.

Due to the nature of the issue presented, no detailed recitation of the facts is required. It suffices to say that each defendant pleaded guilty to a variety of charges arising out of a series of armed robberies; allegations of prior offenses were also admitted. The pleas were part of a negotiated disposition under which defendant Melton would receive a sentence of 20 years, and defendant McAllister would be sentenced to a term of 16 years and 4 months.

These sentences were duly imposed. However, the court also followed the recommendation contained in the probation reports and imposed on each

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defendant a restitution fine in the amount of $5,000. Although neither defendant objected at the sentencing hearing, both now contend that the fine was not part of the negotiated disposition and was therefore improperly imposed.

Division One of this court recently confronted a similar situation in

People

v.

Oberreuter

(1988) 204 Cal.App.3d 884 [251 Cal.Rptr. 522], Defendant agreed to plead guilty without having been informed that he would be subject to a restitution fine. Holding that the fine could not be imposed where defendant had not agreed to the term and had not been advised that he would be subject to such a fine, the court struck the fine while upholding the remainder of the sentence. (Id., at p. 890.) On the other hand, in a still more recent decision, the Fifth District refused either to strike the fine or to remand for the purpose of allowing defendant the opportunity to withdraw his plea.