 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
People v. Martinez2/21/2003
1. Introduction
Defendant entered an open plea of guilty to three felonies: in count 1, to driving under the influence and causing injury, in count 2, to driving while having .08 grams and more, by weight, of alcohol in his blood, and in count 3, to leaving the scene of an accident without rendering assistance. He also admitted allegations in counts 1 and 2 that he caused great bodily injury.
On April 5, 2002, the trial court sentenced defendant to six years in prison, but on June 14, 2002, recalled defendant's sentence and reduced it to five years. The modified sentence consisted of two years on count 1, plus three years for the great bodily injury enhancement on count 1.
The trial court did not recalculate defendant's custody credits when it modified his sentence. The custody credits totaled 76 days from April 5 through June 14, 2002. Defendant appealed, and the trial court issued a certificate of probable cause.
Defendant raises two contentions on this appeal. First, he contends that he is entitled to withdraw his guilty plea, because he was not advised that probation was statutorily disfavored, thereby permitting him to believe that probation was likely. Second, he contends that the trial court erred in failing to calculate his custody credits (76 days) when it modified his sentence.
We conclude that defendant's first contention is without merit, because nothing in the record indicates defendant was misled concerning the direct consequences of his plea. We further conclude that it is unnecessary to amend the abstract of judgment to reflect 76 days of custody credits through June 14, 2002, because the existing abstract reflects that defendant's five-year modified sentence was imposed on April 5, 2002, the date he was originally sentenced.
2. Facts and Procedural History
During the early evening of December 15, 2001, Nicole, age nine, was riding her bicycle through an intersection. Defendant failed to stop for a posted stop sign and hit Nicole, causing her to become airborne. Defendant fled the scene.
A witness followed defendant. Defendant ran two red lights and stopped at a third. The witness approached defendant's truck and yelled at him to go back to the scene. Two passengers got out of defendant's truck to confront the witness, and the witness swung at one of them. Defendant yelled at the passengers to get back in his truck. They did so, and defendant drove away. The witness obtained defendant's license plate number.
Later that evening, officers arrested defendant at his home. Defendant was crying. He told the officers: "I did it. It was a dark street. I know I did something bad. My God. My God." He told the officers that he intended to return to the scene, but one of his passengers took his keys. Defendant failed a series of field sobriety tests, and his blood alcohol content was 0.12 percent.
Defendant entered his guilty plea on January 25, 2002, about six weeks after the offenses, and before the preliminary hearing. The written plea agreement indicates "0 to 7 years," and "no deals."
Before defendant entered his guilty plea, the trial court advised defendant: "You can get anywhere from zero to seven years in state prison and a [$10,000] fine. We're going to refer this to probation. They're going to prepare a report. They will make a recommendation. Your attorney will argue for whatever he thinks is appropriate. The [district attorney] will argue for what he thinks is appropriate. I will make a decision. You can get seven years state prison. You can get probation and anywhere from zero to 365 days custody. The whole thing is wide open. We'll j
Page 1 2 3 California DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|