Westbrook

Defendant, Lequan Westbrook, appeals after entry of a no contest plea to a charge of cocaine possession in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11350, subdivision (a) and a state prison sentence contending he was eligible for participation in a Penal Code section 1210 et seq. drug treatment program. Defendant had previously been found in a juvenile court delinquency proceeding to have committed a robbery, a violation of Penal Code section 211. The trial court concluded defendant was statutorily ineligible for a drug treatment program pursuant to Penal Code section 1210.1, subdivision (b)(1) because he had previously been adjudicated of committing a robbery in the juvenile court delinquency proceeding. Defendant contends that because the robbery finding occurred in the context of a juvenile delinquency proceeding, he was never “convicted” of a serious or violent felony within the meaning of Penal Code section 1210.1, subdivision (b). We agree with defendant.

Defendant, a gang member who has used 11 different aliases, two birth dates, and five different Social Security numbers, has a lengthy criminal record. On May 13, 1989, as a juvenile, defendant was arrested on…