California v. Vasquez
Annotate this CaseSince he was 19 years old, defendant John Vasquez had been continuously been on probation, parole, or incarcerated. At age 26, Vasquez pleaded guilty to two armed robberies and went to prison for 13 years. At age 42, while still on parole, Vasquez committed two recent armed robberies. In the last robbery, Vasquez hit a gas station attendant in the face with his handgun, causing fractures to the victim’s right orbital area. Vasquez also shot the victim in the leg. The prosecution charged Vasquez with attempted murder, two armed robberies, related crimes, and sentencing enhancements. The prosecution calculated Vasquez’s potential exposure at 90 years to life. However, the trial court struck one of Vasquez’s two prior strike convictions and imposed a 28-year determinate prison term after Vazquez pleaded to the sheet. The prosecution objected and appealed. The Court of Appeal concluded that given Vasquez’s background, character, and prospects, he fell squarely within the letter and the spirit of the “Three Strikes” law, and there were no extraordinary circumstances that justified a departure from that law. Therefore, the Court found the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing one of Vasquez’s strike priors.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.