Error and/or relief
The court accepted the defendant’s admission to a single prior serious felony conviction and a prior strike conviction.These admissions were based on the defendant’s 2010 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement. The court sentenced the defendant as a second striker based on his admission that his 2010 conviction of aggravated assault with a gang enhancement constituted a strike. In light of AB 333’s modifications to the elements of PC 186.22 regarding gang criminal activity, the People concede, and we agree, that the defendant’s two-strike sentence must be vacated and the matter remanded for a possible retrial of his prior conviction allegations.
Holding:
AB 333 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) increased the evidentiary requirements for proving gang offenses and enhancements by amending section 186.22. The defendant’s prior convictions were based on his admission to the elements of section 186.22 as it read at the time of his plea. At that time, the prosecution was not required to prove—and the defendant did not admit—the elements newly required under AB 333. These heightened requirements apply when assessing whether pre–AB 333 convictions may be used for certain sentencing purposes.
Because the defendant’s prior convictions predated AB 333, the record does not establish they satisfy the amended statute’s more stringent requirements, and because this case is not yet final, the parties agree that the trial court’s true findings on the prior strike and serious felony enhancement must be vacated and the matter remanded for resentencing. If the prosecution elects to retry those allegations, the trial court must adjudicate them applying the elements of section 186.22 as amended by AB 333.
Authority:
People v. Fletcher (2025) 18 Cal.5th 576, 583, 608