People v. Bonner CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Bonner was convicted in 2004 of two counts of felony forgery pursuant to section 470, subdivision (d), after forging two checks and attempting to deposit them in

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. his bank account. 2 He was granted probation for a term of four years, conditions of which included payment of restitution and service of 180 days in jail. A. Bonner’s Section 17(b) Motion In July 2020, Bonner filed a motion with the trial court asking it to exercise its discretion under section 17(b) to reduce the convictions to misdemeanors. 3 He included letters of support from his daughter-in-law, three friends, and a former employer, attesting to Bonner’s “character, transformation and support.” The letters generally spoke to Bonner’s compassion, selflessness, work ethic and commitment to helping others and benefitting the community. Bonner noted that it had been 16 years since his last criminal conviction and that he had made “many positive changes in his life since that time” and was “now a hard-working family man with a history of serving his community and striving to better himself.” In addition to his work as a chef…