People v. Samuels CA4/3

FACTS

In 2016, defendant pleaded guilty to the unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle with a prior conviction (Pen. Code, § 666.5, subd. (a); Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), theft from an elder (Pen. Code, § 368, subd. (d)(1)), and driving without a valid license (Veh. Code, § 12500, subd.(a)). On September 21, 2016, the court placed defendant on formal probation for three years. At the sentencing hearing, the court stated defendant was required to report to probation within 72 hours of release from custody. In February 2019, the probation officer reported defendant had been released from custody on January 30, 2019, and was in violation of his probation by failing to report to probation within 72 hours of release from custody. The report stated: “On February 5, 2019, the clerk [of the court] provided [defendant] with a Notice to Report for Supervision [sic] on February 7, 2019, he failed to report on that date. He is documented as transient. Attempts to make telephone contact on February 7, 2019, failed. On February 15, [2019], further attempts to contact the probationer via telephone failed. On the same date, telephone contact was made with his brother, whom stated that he had…