People v. Speck CA3

BACKGROUND

In case No. P19CRF0512, deputies stopped defendant while he was driving a vehicle with no front license plate and a rear plate that had been reported stolen. The owner of a tow yard had previously reported chains had been cut off the gate and a vehicle was missing from the tow yard. Upon searching the vehicle, deputies found bolt cutters and tools to remove a license plate in the trunk. A jury found defendant guilty of driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)) and receiving a known stolen vehicle (Pen. Code, § 496d),1 and as to both counts found true the allegation the vehicle was worth more than $950. The trial court sentenced him to the upper term of three years on the charge of unlawfully taking or driving a vehicle, to be served as a split sentence (§ 1170, subd. (h)(5)), and the upper term of three years on receiving a known stolen vehicle, stayed under section 654, and imposed various fines and fees. The court ordered the sentence split as a two year commitment in “county prison,” with credit for 336 days, and one year on mandatory community supervision. In case No. P20CRF0522, defendant damaged a catalytic converter belonging…