People v. Piola CA1/1

I.

BACKGROUND

Defendant fired a semiautomatic weapon repeatedly at his neighbors and their home over the course of an hour, wounding one of the neighbors seriously.2 In 2009, defendant pled guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a semiautomatic firearm (§ 245, subd. (b)) and admitted allegations he personally used a firearm (former § 12022.5, subd. (a)) and caused great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). There was no negotiated term. The trial court imposed the concurrent midterm sentences of six years on each count, a consecutive upper term of 10 years on the firearm enhancement, and a consecutive term of three years on the great bodily injury enhancement for a total of 19 years. During the sentencing proceedings, the court mistakenly stated it was legally precluded from considering defendant’s mental illness and various other factors in mitigation and aggravation in setting the term. Though the court recognized defendant had emotional problems and was relatively old, “given the magnitude of the violence and infliction of the physical and emotional injuries,” the court concluded the sentence was “appropriate.” Defendant appealed, and we affirmed the judgment…