People v. Zamarripa

Filed 6/1/16 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B266850

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA019275) v.

DAVID J. ZAMARRIPA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Christopher G. Estes, Judge. Affirmed.

Rich Pfeiffer, 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, Scott A. Taryle and David A. Wildman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Defendant David J. Zamarripa appeals from the order denying his application under Proposition 47 (The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act; Pen. Code, § 1170.18) to have his 1999 felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance reclassified as a misdemeanor. The People opposed defendant’s application on the basis that he was convicted in 2015 of kidnapping to commit a robbery. The trial court denied the application, finding that defendant was ineligible for Proposition 47 relief because of his prior disqualifying conviction. On appeal, defendant contends Proposition 47 only precludes reclassification where a defendant had a “prior” disqualifying conviction, and since his kidnapping to commit robbery conviction occurred after his drug possession conviction, he is eligible for reclassification. Finding no merit in this contention, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In 1999, defendant was charged by felony complaint with possession of cocaine, and with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a), count 1; Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (a), count 2.) It was also alleged that defendant had one prior strike conviction, three prior prison terms, and one prior drug offense. (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 667.5, subd. (b), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d); Health & Saf. Code, § 11370, subd. (a).) On October 7, 1999, defendant pled no contest to both counts, and admitted his prior strike conviction. On October 29, 1999, defendant was sentenced to 32 months in state prison for count 1, and to 180 days in county jail for count 2. In January 2015, defendant was convicted of kidnapping to commit a robbery, a “super strike” for which he received a sentence of 17 years to life. On August 17, 2015, defendant filed an application for reclassification under Proposition 47, seeking to have his conviction under Health and Safety Code section 11350 designated a misdemeanor. The People opposed defendant’s application, urging that defendant was ineligible for reclassification because he had been convicted of a “super strike.”