Davis

After a probation violation hearing, the trial court lifted a stay of a two-year prison sentence imposed on defendant Reginald Antwan Davis at the time of his conviction for possession of methamphetamine. Defendant contends this order improperly deprived him of the benefits of Proposition 36. We agree and shall reverse.

Background

On April 6, 1999, defendant was charged with possession of methamphetamine in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a). On April 12, 1999, defendant pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to two years in state prison. However, the court suspended execution of sentence and placed defendant on probation for five years. As a condition of probation, defendant was ordered to attend drug court.

On April 14, 1999, the court accepted defendant into its drug court substance abuse program. However, on September 10, 2001, defendant was terminated from the program for a positive drug test and two failures to appear in drug court.

On March 7, 2002, the court held a hearing on defendant’s alleged probation violation and found he had violated the terms and conditions of probation by testing positive for a controlled substance…