People v. Coleman CA4/2

INTRODUCTION

On a Saturday morning in May 2015, appellant Gary Mitchell Coleman, Jr.,

(Coleman) drove home after a night out drinking in Las Vegas. Around 6:30 a.m., he

was seen driving over 130 miles per hour and weaving in and out of traffic on a rural

stretch of Interstate 15. Minutes later, he rear-ended a sport utility vehicle (SUV),

causing the SUV to flip over and roll across the lanes of oncoming traffic, killing the

driver.

Coleman was convicted by a jury of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

(Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (b).)1 He was sentenced to the middle term of two years.

Coleman contends the trial court erred in sentencing him to the middle term of two

years, rather than the lower term of 16 months. He asserts that under section 1170,

subdivision (b)(6), the lower term was presumed due to his youth and psychological

trauma, and that the court abused its discretion by relying on improper aggravating

factors to conclude that imposition of the lower term was not in the interests of justice.

He also contends the court miscalculated his presentence credits and that the minute order

for the sentencing hearing incorrectly reflects that the court imposed…