People v. Hand CA3

BACKGROUND

In exchange for dismissal of various charges, defendant pled no contest to second degree burglary (Pen. Code, § 459)2 and admitted a prior strike for robbery. He had been convicted in 2001 of two counts of robbery (§ 211) with an enhancement for personally using a gun (§ 12022.53). Following his plea, he was permitted to enroll in a six-month residential drug treatment program. It was “an opportunity to complete the program in order to show the judge that he [could] earn a Romero and probation.” Defendant entered a treatment program but was discharged approximately six weeks later. At sentencing, defendant presented a letter to the trial court, which his attorney interpreted as a Romero motion and a request for probation. In the letter, defendant explained that 40 days into his rehabilitation program, he took a urine test and was told he had tested “dirty for things I’ve never used before.” He continued: “This is when I screwed up, I got scared and I got high and missed the court date my attorney set up for me. I freely admit that I messed up by getting high and running but at the same time I wasn’t out there messing up [committing more crimes].” He attributed his…