People v. Durst CA3

Filed 10/27/15 P. v. Durst CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078548

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 10F05210)

v.

ROBERT DURST,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Robert Durst appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition to resentence his two felony convictions for receiving stolen property as misdemeanors pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.18.1 We will remand for further proceedings.

1 Unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND We take the facts of defendant’s current crime from this court’s opinion affirming his conviction and sentence.2 (See People v. Guilford (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 651, 660- 661.) Defendant lit a candle and opened a gas valve in a rental house belonging to his neighbor. A leasing agent arrived at the property and called 911 after smelling gas and noticing the gas meter spinning rapidly. Firefighters arrived and turned off the gas. When they forced open the front door to ventilate the house, the house exploded. Three firefighters were severely injured in the blast, while another sustained less serious injuries. Two weeks after the explosion, defendant was interviewed by detectives. He admitted that he had stolen items from the rental house, including copper, a water heater, and a ceiling fan. After several hours of questioning, defendant admitted that he took the candle to the rental house, lit it, opened the gas valve for the stove, and left the house. Defendant was arrested and, while in jail, again admitted his role in the house explosion. On April 26, 2012, a jury convicted defendant of arson causing great bodily injury (§ 451, subd. (a)—count 1), possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (former § 12021, subd. (a)(1)—count 3), two counts of second degree burglary (§ 459—counts 2 and 4), and two counts of receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a)—counts 5 and 6). The jury also found true allegations appended to the arson count that defendant caused great bodily injury to a firefighter (§ 451.1, subd. (a)(2)), caused great bodily injury to