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People v. Ramirez6/12/2003
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Scott Ryan Ramirez appeals following his guilty pleas to gross vehicular manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (a)), and leaving the scene of an accident. (Veh. Code, § 20001, subds. (a), (c).) The trial court sentenced appellant to the lower term of four years for the gross vehicular manslaughter and a mandatory consecutive term of five years for leaving the accident scene.
Appellant contends the trial court erred by imposing this latter term because the felony complaint did not specifically allege subdivision (c) or provide appellant adequate notice of the mandatory consecutive five year term. He argues that the mandatory consecutive five year term was "unauthorized by law," an error that can be raised for the first time on appeal. (People v. Scott (1994) 9 Cal.4th 331, 354.) He does not pray for general reversal and the withdrawal from the negotiated disposition. He asks that we strike the mandatory consecutive five year term and remand for resentencing pursuant to the lesser sentence scheme of section 20001 subdivision (b).
As we shall explain, appellant's contention shrinks to a pleading point that cannot successfully be advanced for the first time on appeal. Appellant did not demur or raise any objection to the accusatory pleading in the trial court. The felony complaint, the felony disposition statement, the oral plea proceedings, and the probation report provided him with adequate notice of the mandatory consecutive five-year term. Accordingly, we affirm. We hasten to state the obvious: If we had any doubt that appellant was misled by the trial court, we would grant some type of relief.
Facts
After spending the afternoon getting drunk with a friend, appellant drove his truck at high speeds on Ventura Avenue. As he approached the intersection of Ventura Avenue and Warner Street, 51-year old Linda Brandon was crossing Ventura Avenue in a marked crosswalk. Northbound and southbound traffic had stopped for her. Appellant entered a left-hand turn lane about 200 yards before the intersection, driving past several stopped vehicles at a speed of about 40 miles per hour. He entered the intersection, striking Brandon head-on and throwing her body more than 100 feet from the point of impact. Appellant drove his pickup truck over her body while fleeing the scene. Brandon died as a result of the massive injuries inflicted by appellant. Appellant was arrested within minutes with a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. He later told a probation officer that he "blacked out" while driving and, although he heard a "thump," he did not know that he hit Brandon until he was in jail.
Procedural History
A felony complaint filed against appellant alleged in count 1 that he committed gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, in violation of Penal Code section 191.5, subdivision (a). Count 2 alleged that "the crime of LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT, in violation of Vehicle Code [section] 20001 (a), a Felony, was committed by SCOTT RYAN RAMIREZ, who did unlawfully, and knowingly, being a driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person other than himself/herself, fail, refuse, and neglect to give to the injured person and to a traffic and police officer at the scene of the accident his/her name and address, the registration number of his/her vehicle, and the name of the owner of said vehicle; to exhibit his/her operator's license; to render reasonable assistance to the injured person; and perform the duties specified in Vehicle Code Sections 20003 and 20004."
About one month later, appellant signed a felony disposition statement in which he pleaded guilty to "Count
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