People v. Gonzalez CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

At a probation violation hearing, the trial court ordered appellant Armando Gonzalez (Gonzalez) to serve a three-year jail sentence and remain on probation afterward until January 2028, pursuant to a plea agreement reached in 2015. Gonzalez challenges the order, arguing that the law now limits probation terms to two years. We agree, and therefore direct the trial court to reduce Gonzalez’s probation term to two years.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In February 2015, Gonzalez was charged with one count of identity theft (Pen. Code, § 530.5, subd. (a)).1 In May 2015, Gonzalez entered a plea of no contest. The court sentenced Gonzalez to three years in state prison, but suspended execution of the sentence and placed him on probation for five years. In January 2016, the trial court revoked Gonzalez’s probation and issued a bench warrant. In August 2023, Gonzalez appeared before the court and was remanded into custody. In September 2023, the trial court held a probation violation hearing. The court terminated probation, imposed the previously stayed three-year sentence (now to be served in county jail), and ordered Gonzalez to remain on probation until January 20,…