People v. Santiago CA2/1

Filed 7/29/16 P. v. Santiago CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B264145

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA099788) v.

SAMUEL R. SANTIAGO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Steven P. Sanora, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. Tyrone A. Sandoval, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey and Michael J. Wise, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________

Samuel R. Santiago stole his girlfriend’s purse during the course of an argument in their home. He was charged with and pleaded no contest to grand theft person and was placed on formal probation for a period of three years. In November 2014, the voters enacted Proposition 47, which among other things permits a felon serving a sentence for grand theft person to petition the court for resentencing as a misdemeanant if the value of the property taken was $950 or less. Santiago thereafter filed a petition to recall his sentence. The trial court denied the petition, reasoning Santiago was ineligible for resentencing because Proposition 47 left the definition of grand theft person intact. We reverse the order and remand the matter for further consideration of the petition. BACKGROUND We obtain the facts from a 2012 police report. On the evening of October 18, 2012, Santiago engaged in an argument with his girlfriend and cohabitant Estrella Ramirez, with whom he had a one-year-old child. The argument revolved around Santiago’s apparent drug addiction, as Santiago would frequently take Ramirez’s purse by force and use her money to buy drugs. While Ramirez was holding her purse in one arm and their child in the other, Santiago physically wrestled the purse away from her and fled the house. Ramirez reported the purse contained items worth approximately $150, but no cash. On January 7, 2013, Santiago pleaded no contest to grand theft person and was placed on formal probation for a period of three years on the condition that he serve 240 days in the Los Angeles County Jail. (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. (c).)1 Section 487 defines grand theft person as theft of property “taken from the person of another,” without regard to value, which was considered a “wobbler offense” (a crime that can be punished as either a misdemeanor or felony) prior to the enactment of Proposition 47. (§§ 487, subd. (c), 461.)