In re B.V. CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

B.V. (Minor) took and drove her grandmother’s vehicle without permission.

About two weeks later, Minor again took and drove the vehicle without permission. She

was charged with two misdemeanors for the first incident and two felonies for the second

incident. As part of a stipulation, Minor admitted that one of the offenses from the first

incident was a misdemeanor and one of the offenses from the second incident was a

felony. The juvenile court accepted Minor’s concession and deferred entry of judgment

for one year. The juvenile court later lifted the deferral, adjudged Minor a ward of the

court, and ordered her to the maximum confinement period of three years, four months.

Minor argues, among other things, that the matter must be remanded because it is

unclear from the record whether the trial court exercised its discretion under Welfare and

2 Institutions Code section 702 (section 702) to treat Minor’s offense from the second

incident as a felony instead of a misdemeanor. We agree and remand the matter with

directions.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Minor was removed from her parents’ care and placed with her grandmother. On

July 2, 2020,…