P. v. Serrano
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In a shootout following a high-speed car chase, the defendant, Mario Guadalupe Serrano, was convicted of 13 criminal counts, including two counts of premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer. After the trial court dismissed five of six firearm enhancements, it sentenced Serrano to a total determinate term of 35 years 8 months and a total indeterminate term of 30 years to life. On appeal, Serrano argued that there was insufficient evidence supporting the jury's finding of premeditation and deliberation, the trial court failed to exercise its discretion to consider striking the premeditation and deliberation findings, and the trial court erroneously attached the 20-year sentence for the firearm enhancement to his determinate term rather than his indeterminate term.
The Court of Appeal of the State of California First Appellate District Division Five affirmed the judgment, with the exception of the last argument. It held that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that Serrano had committed premeditated attempted murder of two peace officers beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also found that the trial court did not err in failing to exercise its discretion to dismiss the jury’s findings of premeditation and deliberation because these findings constitute alternative penalties for the offenses rather than enhancements. However, the court agreed with Serrano's assertion that the trial court erred in orally pronouncing that the 20-year sentence for the firearm enhancement was attached to his determinate term. Therefore, the court remanded the case for the limited purpose of correcting the record to reflect that the 20-year sentence for the firearm enhancement was attached to Serrano's indeterminate term.
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