People v. Fuentes
Annotate this CaseDefendant was charged with the unlawful taking of a vehicle and receiving stolen property. The complaint also contained a gang enhancement allegation under Cal. Penal Code 186.22(b) that exposed Defendant to up to an additional four years in prison. Defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, and the trial court accepted the defense invitation to dismiss the gang enhancement allegation under Cal. Penal Code 1385(a). The District Attorney appealed, arguing that, by enacting section 186.22(g), the Legislature intended to eliminate a trial court’s section 1385(a) discretion to dismiss or strike entirely a section 186.22(b) gang enhancement. Because the trial court failed to state its reasons for the gang enhancement dismissal, the Court of Appeal remanded the case to allow the trial court to do so, and otherwise affirmed the trial court’s judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a trial court has the discretion under section 1385(a) to strike entirely a sentencing enhancement under section 186.22(b)(1) for a gang-related offense; and (2) because the trial court orally statement its reasons for dismissing the gang enhancement on the record, no remand was required.
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