People v. Garcia

Filed 5/2/18 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B282787 (Super. Ct. No. 2014035319) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

JESUS PEDRO GARCIA,

Defendant and Appellant.

Jesus Pedro Garcia appeals a judgment the trial court imposed after revoking his postrelease community supervision (PRCS). (Pen. Code, §§ 3451, 3455.)1 The court imposed a 180- day period of confinement for Garcia’s PRCS violation to run consecutively to a four-year prison term in another case. We conclude, among other things, that the court lacks authority to run a period of confinement for a PRCS violation consecutively to a sentence in another criminal case. The portion of the judgment imposing a consecutive sentence is stricken; as so modified, we affirm.

All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless 1

otherwise stated.

FACTS In January 2015, Garcia pled guilty to unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), a felony, and evading an officer (id., § 2800.2, subd. (a)), a felony. The trial court suspended imposition of sentence and placed him on probation for 36 months. Garcia violated his probation conditions. The trial court revoked probation and sentenced Garcia to serve two years in state prison. On March 30, 2016, Garcia was released from prison and placed on PRCS. On April 20, 2017, the Ventura County Probation Agency petitioned to revoke Garcia’s PRCS, alleging, among other things, that he had “absconded from supervision.” It also noted that on April 18, 2017, Garcia was sentenced to a four-year prison term for carjacking in criminal case No. 2016017314. On April 25, 2017, the trial court found Garcia violated his PRCS conditions. It ordered him to serve 180 days in the county jail to run consecutively to a four-year prison sentence for Garcia’s carjacking conviction in case No. 2016017314. DISCUSSION The Consecutive Sentence Garcia, the People and we agree that the trial court lacked authority to impose Garcia’s PRCS revocation confinement consecutive to a determinate sentence in another criminal case. “PRCS was created by the Legislature in 2011 as an alternative to parole for non-serious, nonviolent felonies.” (People v. Gutierrez (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 393, 399.) “A felon who qualifies for PRCS may be subject to supervision for up to three years after his or her release from prison. (§ 3451, subd. (a).)” (Ibid.) The supervised person “may be subject to various