Gross

Under Welfare and Institutions Code former section 3200, a trial court could dismiss the criminal charges against a defendant who successfully completed a commitment to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) and the dismissal had (with one exception not applicable here) “the same force and effect as a dismissal under Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, former § 3200, subd. (b); see People v. Rodriguez (1966) 243 Cal.App.2d 522, 527 [ 52 Cal.Rptr. 643 ].) When an accusation or information is dismissed under section 1203.4, the defendant is, with certain exceptions, “released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of which he or she has been convicted.” (§ 1203.4, subd. (a)(1).)

In this case, defendant Rickey Glenn Gross contends the dismissal of the criminal charges against him pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code former section 3200 following his successful completion of a CRC commitment operated to release him from the obligation to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes because direct victim restitution “qualifies as a ‘penalty and disability’ pursuant to . . . section 1203.4.” We disagree. The obligation to…