People v. Jones

California Court of Appeal Apr 30, 1998 No. B113433Published

Before: Hastings

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Holding. The court held that a defendant who receives concurrent prison sentences for multiple prior offenses serves only one 'prior separate prison term' under Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b), and is therefore subject to only one enhancement.

Issues

Whether a defendant who receives concurrent sentences for two prior offenses, one of which was a probation violation, is subject to two separate one-year prison enhancements under Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b).

Disposition. modified and affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Courts have consistently recognized that this statutory language means that only one enhancement is proper where concurrent sentences have been imposed in two or more prior felony cases.”

“Section 667.5(g) provides that a defendant serves a single term in state prison notwithstanding that the term consists of several separate sentences attributable to different convictions.”

63 Cal.App.4th 744 (1998) THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

PAUL J. JONES, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. B113433. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Four.

April 30, 1998. [745] COUNSEL

Michaelyn Jones, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Carol Wendelin Pollack, Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth C. Byrne and Corey J. Robins, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

HASTINGS, J.

On April 23, 1996, appellant Paul J. Jones stole computer equipment from Madison Elementary School in Pasadena. A jury found him guilty of second degree commercial burglary, and the trial court found that he had previously been convicted in Los Angeles County of credit card theft in March of 1985 (case No. A567171), of two counts of burglary in February of 1986 (case No. A569904), of burglary in June of 1990 (case No. GA003888) and of petty theft with a prior in January of 1992 (case No. GA009552). Appellant was sentenced to prison for a term of ten years, consisting of an upper term of three years, doubled under the Three Strikes [746] law for a total of six years, plus four one-year enhancements pursuant to Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b).[1]

Appellant contends in this appeal that his sentence was improperly enhanced with four one-year enhancements because two of his prison terms were served concurrently. For reasons explained in this opinion, we modify appellant's sentence to strike one of the enhancements, leaving a total term of imprisonment of nine years, and direct the trial court to prepare and forward to the Department of Corrections an amended abstract of judgment reflecting this modification. In all other respect we affirm the judgment.

People v. Jones

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OPINION

HASTINGS, J.

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DISCUSSION

DISPOSITION

NOTES

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