People v. Bueno CA2/2

Filed 3/14/16 P. v. Bueno CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, B262950

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA035643) v.

MANUEL BUENO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Michael A. Cowell, Judge. Conditionally reversed; remanded.

Emily Lowther, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Mary Sanchez and Michael Katz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________________________________

Manuel Bueno appeals from the order denying his petition for recall of his sentence for receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496, subd. (a))1 and for resentencing of such conviction as a misdemeanor pursuant to section 1170.18, added by Proposition 47.2 We conditionally reverse the order and remand the matter for the trial court to exercise its discretion to determine whether such resentencing “would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety” (§ 1170.18, subds. (b) & (c)). If the answer is affirmative, the order denying the petition is affirmed, but if the answer is negative, the order is reversed and the trial court is directed to grant the petition, recall the felony

1 All further section references are to the Penal Code. 2 Proposition 47 was an initiative measure approved by the voters (Gen. Elec. Nov. 4, 2014) and took effect on November 5, 2014 (see Cal. Const., art. II, § 10 [initiative statute “takes effect the day after the election unless the measure provides otherwise”]). “The initiative: added Government Code chapter 33 of division 7 of title 1 (§ 7599 et seq., the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund); added sections 459.5, 490.2 and 1170.18 to the Penal Code; amended sections 473, 476a, 496 and 666 of the Penal Code; and amended Health and Safety Code sections 11350, 11357 and 11377. (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 4, 2014) text of Prop. 47, §§ 4-14, pp. 70-74.) The electorate’s stated purpose and intent was to ‘(1) Ensure that people convicted of murder, rape, and child molestation will not benefit from this act. [¶] (2) Create the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund . . . for crime prevention and support programs in K-12 schools, . . . for trauma recovery services for crime victims, and . . . for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs to reduce recidivism of people in the justice system. [¶] (3) Require misdemeanors instead of felonies for nonserious, nonviolent crimes like petty theft and drug possession, unless the defendant has prior convictions for specified violent or serious crimes. [¶] (4) Authorize consideration of resentencing for anyone who is currently serving a sentence for any of the offenses listed herein that are now misdemeanors. [¶] (5) Require a thorough review of criminal history and risk assessment of any individuals before resentencing to ensure that they do not pose a risk to public safety. [¶] (6) [And to] save significant state corrections dollars on an annual basis [and] increase investments in programs that reduce crime and improve public safety, such as prevention programs in K-12 schools, victim services, and mental health and drug treatment, which will reduce future expenditures for corrections.’ (Voter Information Guide, supra, text of Prop. 47, § 3, p. 70.)” (People v. Shabazz (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 303, 308.)