People v. Karawia CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant Ousama W. Karawia guilty of one count of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. (a); count 2),1 one count of insurance fraud by presenting a false claim to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) (§ 550, subd. (b)(1); count 7), one count of insurance fraud by making misrepresentations to SCIF regarding facts material to the insurance premium (Ins. Code, § 11880, subd. (a); count 13), and four counts of possession of an assault weapon (former § 12280, subd. (b), renumbered § 30605; counts 15-18).2 The trial court sentenced defendant to five years in state prison on the fraud by misrepresentation count, suspended execution of that sentence, and placed defendant on probation for a period of five years on the condition that he serve 240 days in custody, which could be served by electronic monitoring.3 On the remaining counts, the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on probation for five years. Defendant appeals from the judgment (order granting probation), contending that in treating his assault weapons convictions as felonies rather than misdemeanors, the trial court misunderstood the scope of its discretion and abused…