People v. Marcus T.

Appellant Marcus T. appeals from judgment of the juvenile court declaring him a ward of the court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 and placing him home on probation after finding that he threatened a public officer in violation of Penal Code section 71 1 and made a terrorist threat in violation of Penal Code section 422. 2 He contends the court erred in finding he committed both crimes because the terrorist threat under section 422 was a lesser and necessarily included crime of the threat against a public officer under section 71. For reasons explained in this opinion, we reject this contention.

We conclude, however, that the opposite is true, i.e., that the threat against the public officer in violation of Penal Code section 71 was, on the facts of this case, a lesser and necessarily included crime of the terrorist threat in violation of Penal Code section 422. Because the law governing lesser included crimes is technical, our analysis is necessarily so. But it is the path to the legally accurate finding that appellant committed one, not two, felonies in this matter. Therefore, after review we remand for further proceedings in accord with this…