People v. T.C.

[1432]Opinion

MARQUEZ, J. T.C. appeals from a juvenile court restitution order entered in conjunction with the court’s grant of deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) in his juvenile delinquency case. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 790 et seq.) He contends in substance that the juvenile court abused its discretion with regard to part of the restitution award.

The restitution order is not appealable and we must dismiss the appeal.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The minor stole a car. Then, in a predawn hour on February 13, 2011, he rammed it into a curb three times in a high school parking lot, rendering it a total loss for insurance purposes. This conduct precipitated the filing of a juvenile delinquency petition alleging that the minor engaged in conduct that if committed by an adult would constitute (1) auto theft (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), (2) resisting arrest (Pen. Code, § 148, subd. (a)(1)), and (3) harming a police dog (id., § 600, subd. (a)) that was being used to hunt the minor down after he fled.

The minor admitted the allegations and the juvenile court granted DEJ, meaning that the petition was neither sustained nor not sustained. As a condition of participating in the DEJ program, the minor was required to make restitution to the car owner. The juvenile court awarded the owner $12,936.62, including $2,073.10 in interest that the victim had paid on the car loan. The minor contests only the $2,073.10 interest-based restitution award.

DISCUSSION

Acknowledging the questionable cognizability of an appeal from an order granting DEJ, the minor argues he is not appealing from that order, but rather from an order imposing restitution as a condition of probation under Welfare and Institutions Code section 794.1 That order, however, is encompassed within the juvenile court’s grant of DEJ and cannot be considered as somehow separate from it. This is true not only on the basis of the record before us, but also under section 794, which provides in pertinent part: [1433]