People v. Helmuth CA2/1

Filed 4/21/22 P. v. Helmuth CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B314271

Plaintiff and (Los Angeles County Respondent, Super. Ct. No. KA003213)

v.

SHAWN DARYL HELMUTH,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Douglas Sortino, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. Jennevee H. de Guzman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Chung L. Mar and Noah P. Hill, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

____________________________ Shawn Helmuth petitioned the trial court under Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act, for an order reclassifying a conviction for vehicle theft from a felony to a misdemeanor because, the petition alleged, the vehicle was worth less than $950. Based on the fact that there was no evidence in the petition (other than Helmuth’s assertion) about the value of the stolen vehicle and its own guess about the value of the vehicle at the time Helmuth stole it, the trial court denied Helmuth’s petition. Helmuth contends, and the People agree, that the trial court erred when it denied Helmuth’s petition without allowing Helmuth to produce evidence regarding the value of the vehicle. We agree, and will reverse the trial court’s order and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND Among a series of crimes Helmuth committed between February 17 and February 22, 1990, Helmuth pleaded guilty on June 28, 1990 to unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of Vehicle Code section 10851. The Vehicle Code section 10851 charge was count 8 of an eight-count complaint. Helmuth pleaded guilty to all eight counts, admitted he had used a knife in connection with seven of the eight counts, and had been convicted of two prior serious felonies for purposes of Penal Code section 667, subdivision (a).1 The trial court sentenced Helmuth to a total of 15 years in prison based on the guilty plea. On June 2, 2021, Helmuth petitioned the trial court under section 1170.18 for an order reclassifying his Vehicle Code