People v. Torres CA2/4

DISCUSSION

Defendant asserts that the amount of restitution should be reduced by $3,600, the cost of the two handguns, because the loss of these firearms resulted from the victim’s unlawful conduct, not the theft. The Attorney General concedes, and we agree modification of the restitution award by $3,600 is warranted. The California Constitution expresses “the unequivocal intention of the People of the State of California that all persons who suffer losses as a result of criminal activity shall have the right to seek and secure restitution from the persons convicted of the crimes causing the losses they suffer.” (Cal. Const., art. I, § 28, subd. (b)(13)(A).) “Restitution shall be ordered from the convicted wrongdoer in every case, regardless of the sentence or disposition imposed, in which a crime victim suffers a loss.” (Cal. Const., art. I, § 28, subd. (b)(13)(B).)

3 “Section 1202.4 implements this constitutional mandate.” (People v. Foalima (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 1376, 1395.) That section states, in part, that “in every case in which a victim has suffered economic loss as a result of the defendant’s conduct, the court shall require that the defendant make restitution to the…