People v. Cantu CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2017, appellant Nathaniel Nicholas Cantu, Jr., pled no contest to assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code,1 § 245, subd. (a)(1), count 1) and active participation in a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (a), count 3). As to count 1, Cantu admitted that he committed the crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)), and that he had personally inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim in the commission of the offense (§ 12022.7). Cantu further admitted that he had suffered two prior strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)) and that he had served one prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)).2 Consistent with the parties’ negotiated agreement, the trial court imposed an aggregate term of 10 years eight months in state prison. In 2020, Senate Bill No. 136 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.) (SB 136) amended section 667.5, restricting the application of prior prison term enhancements except where a prior conviction was for a sexually violent offense. (Stats 2019, ch. 590, § 1.) Effective January 1, 2022, Senate Bill No. 483 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) (SB 483) added former section 1172.1, now section 1172.75 to the Penal Code.3…