People v. Alfaro CA2/1

Filed 7/2/24 P. v. Alfaro CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B331840

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA044147) v.

MIGUEL ALFARO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Daniel Feldstern, Judge. Affirmed. Cynthia L. Barnes, 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, Scott A. Taryle and Lauren N. Guber, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _______________________________

In 2022, while Miguel Alfaro was serving a long prison sentence, the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requested that the court recall Alfaro’s sentence in light of a recent amendment to Penal Code section 1385 and resentence him in accordance with now Penal Code section 1172.1.1 After briefing and a hearing, the court denied the request on the ground that Alfaro presented an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Alfaro contends the trial court abused its discretion, as the finding that he remained an unreasonable risk of danger was speculative and unsupported by the record. We disagree, and thus affirm the order. BACKGROUND Alfaro has an extensive criminal history comprising 16 strike convictions in 11 separate felony cases between 1984 and 2004 and has been incarcerated for 40 of his 60 years, during which he attempted to escape twice. He was involved in approximately eight fights from 1989 to 2000 while incarcerated and was placed in a single-occupancy cell from 2009 to 2022 for the safety of the prison population. In 2003, Alfaro pleaded no contest to three counts of residential burglary and one each of grand theft and receiving stolen property, and admitted five prior convictions within the meaning of the “Three Strikes” law. The trial court sentenced him to 40 years to life in prison, and we affirmed the conviction. (People v. Alfaro (Dec. 27, 2005, B174698) [nonpub. opn.].) In 2004, Alfaro was removed from prison and transported to Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles County to be prosecuted for