People v. Morales CA3

Filed 1/29/16 P. v. Morales CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Butte) ----

THE PEOPLE, C079064

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CM041209)

v.

ANTHONY DAVID MORALES,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Anthony David Morales pleaded no contest to causing great bodily injury while driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher, within 10 years of two other driving-under-the-influence (DUI) convictions. (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (b); Pen. Code, § 12022.7.) The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of seven years in state prison. On appeal, defendant contends he received ineffective counsel at sentencing and the trial court erred in ordering him to pay a $1,956 Vehicle Code section 23539 fine. We conclude defendant received effective counsel but agree the $1,956 fine was

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unauthorized. Accordingly, we will remand the matter to allow the trial court to correctly identify the statutory bases for the fine, but otherwise affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND In the early hours of May 14, 2014, a man was driving a truck from Oregon to Auburn with two passengers inside. The driver pulled over on the side of the freeway, and then he and one of the passengers got out of the truck to secure the load in the back. The next thing the driver knew, he was struck by another vehicle (later identified as defendant’s). He landed on the ground, his legs broken. The victim’s passenger, who was helping to secure the load in the back of the truck, saw defendant’s vehicle approaching them from behind, veering onto the shoulder. When he realized the vehicle was not slowing down, he jumped out of the way. He watched as defendant drove his vehicle into the victim, throwing the victim forward. The passenger approached the victim and saw that his legs were broken. Defendant approached the passenger and said they should just move the victim and exchange information. Defendant asked the passenger not to call the police. The passenger told defendant he was calling 911 and that the victim was seriously injured. Defendant went back to his vehicle and tried to start the engine. The vehicle would not start and the passenger could hear defendant calling someone to “hurry and come pick him up, before the police arrived.” The victim’s second passenger, who was inside the truck when defendant hit the victim, did not see what caused defendant to veer off the road. But, she also told defendant she was calling 911, and she also overheard him on the phone asking someone to hurry and pick him up before the police arrived. Police officers soon arrived. The officer who made contact with defendant noted that defendant smelled like alcohol. He also noted defendant’s eyes were “red and watery,” his speech “slurred,” and he was unsteady on his feet. Defendant initially denied drinking any alcoholic beverages that evening, but eventually admitted to drinking