People v. Karas CA2/5

INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Maged Karas filed a petition in the trial court to reduce his 1992 felony second degree burglary of a vehicle (Pen. Code, § 4591) conviction to a misdemeanor pursuant to Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (§ 1170.18). The trial court denied the petition. Defendant appeals, and we affirm.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

In 1992, defendant pleaded no contest to second degree burglary of a vehicle and admitted that he had suffered a prior conviction within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (b). The trial court sentenced defendant to four years in state prison and suspended execution of sentence. In 2015, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under Proposition 47 seeking to have his 1992 burglary of a vehicle conviction reduced to a misdemeanor, claiming the “amount in question” was not more than $950. The People opposed the petition on the ground that defendant’s burglary of a vehicle offense did not qualify for Proposition 47 relief. The trial court agreed with the People and denied the petition.

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in ruling that burglary of a vehicle in violation of section 459…