People v. Lockett CA2/8

BACKGROUND

In January 2019, Defendant drove a used 2012 Bentley automobile off the sales lot of Phillips Auto without permission. The vehicle was recovered six days later. Defendant pleaded no contest to driving a vehicle without consent. (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a).) In February 2019, the trial court sentenced him to a prison term and further ordered him to pay restitution to Phillips Auto in the amount of $27,450. Of this amount, $2,450 was stipulated as actual damages to the vehicle. The remaining $25,000 was the trial court’s estimate of lost value based on testimony from a Phillips Auto employee that the vehicle had to be reported as stolen to CARFAX, which would reduce the value of the vehicle by 25 to 30 percent. At the time of the original restitution hearing, Defendant was under the impression that the vehicle had not been sold, as it was listed on the Phillips Auto website for $99,960. Defendant appealed both his sentence and the restitution order. In an unpublished decision, People v. Lockett (Dec. 18, 2020, B296211 [nonpub. opn.]), we remanded with instructions to modify the sentence but found no abuse of discretion in fixing the amount of the restitution award.

1…