Martinez

A jury convicted defendant of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine. Treating the state agency that disposed of the hazardous substances found at the illegal drug laboratory as a crime victim, the trial court ordered defendant to reimburse the agency for its cleanup costs of $5,402.67. The court did so under Penal Code section 1202.4, subdivision (f), which requires restitution to a crime victim when, “as a result of the defendant’s conduct,” the victim “has suffered economic loss.” We conclude that this statute was an improper basis for the restitution order because the agency was not a direct victim of defendant’s criminal conduct. The exclusive statutory basis for reimbursement to the agency is provided by Health and Safety Code sections 11470.1 and 11470.2, which establish special procedures by which public entities such as the Department of Toxic Substance Control, the agency involved here, may recover their costs of cleaning up hazardous substances, or their precursors, at illegal drug manufacturing sites. Because these special procedures were not followed here, the reimbursement order is invalid.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Around 9:30 a.m. on…