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Filed 11/30/20 P. v. Jennings CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for 

publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication

or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

JOSHUA JENNINGS,

Defendant and Appellant.

E072096

(Super.Ct.Nos. BAF1800824,

 BAF1701010 & SWF 1707303)

OPINION

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Chad W. Firetag, Judge. 

Affirmed with directions.

Erica Gambale, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and 

Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney 

General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland and Alana 

Cohen Butler, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant and appellant Joshua Jennings guilty of inflicting corporal 

injury upon a spouse (Pen. Code,1 § 273.5, subd. (a), count 1), making criminal threats

(§ 422, count 2), dissuading a witness by threat of force or violence (§ 136.1, subd. (c)(1), 

count 3), and violating a protective or stay-away court order (§ 166, subd. (c)(4), count 

4). A trial court found that he had a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)) and 

a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (c) & (e)(1), 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)). The court

sentenced defendant to 12 years in state prison.

On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the court erroneously believed it was required 

to imposed the term on count 3 consecutively, under section 1170.15; (2) the court should 

have stayed the sentence on count 3 pursuant to section 654; and (3) pursuant to People v.

Dueñas (2019) 30 Cal.App.5th 1157 (Dueñas), the court’s imposition of a court 

operations fee, a court facilities assessment fee, and a restitution fine violated his right to 

due process, absent a hearing on his ability to pay. We remand for resentencing on count 

3, with regard to section 1170.15. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Case No. SWF1707303

In case No. SWF1707303, defendant pled guilty to unlawfully driving or taking a 

vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), in exchange for the dismissal of charges of 

burglary, buying or receiving a stolen vehicle, and three drug-related offenses. On May 

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 All further statutory references will be to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted.
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26, 2017, the court granted defendant five years of formal probation under specified 

conditions. On June 27, 2017, defendant admitted to violating his probation, and the 

court sentenced him to a two-year split sentence.

Case No. BAF1701010

In case No. BAF1701010, defendant pled guilty to first degree burglary (§ 459) 

and admitted that another person other than an accomplice was present in the residence 

during the commission of the burglary (§ 667.5, subd. (c)(21)). In exchange, the court 

dismissed charges of attempted criminal threats, purchasing a firearm while knowing he 

was prohibited from doing so, and violating a protective order. On January 29, 2018, the 

court again granted defendant five years of formal probation.

Case No. BAF1800824 (The Instant Case)

On October 29, 2018, defendant was charged by first amended information with 

inflicting corporal injury upon a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a), count 1), making criminal 

threats (§ 422, count 2), dissuading a witness by threat of force or violence (§ 136.1, 

subd. (c)(1), count 3), and violating a protective or stay-away court order (§ 166, 

subd. (c)(4), count 4). The amended information also alleged that defendant had a prior 

serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)) and a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, 

subds. (c) & (e)(1), 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)). A jury found him guilty of all counts. In a 

bifurcated hearing, the court found the prior conviction allegations true. It also found that 

defendant was in violation of probation in case No. BAF1701010. The court denied 
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defendant’s Romero2 motion to dismiss his prior strike conviction. However, it exercised 

its discretion under section 1385 and struck the prior serious felony conviction 

enhancement. (§ 667, subd. (a).) It then sentenced defendant to 12 years in state prison 

as follows: the midterm of three years on count 1 and a consecutive three years on count 

3, doubled pursuant to the prior strike. The court stayed the sentences on counts 2 and 4

under section 654. It terminated probation in case No. BAF1701010 and sentenced him 

to one year four months, to run consecutive to the sentence in the instant case. The court 

also terminated the mandatory supervision in case No. SWF1707303 and sentenced him 

to a consecutive term of eight months. Thus, the aggregate term for all three cases was 

14 years.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

C.R. (the victim) had known defendant for approximately 13 years and was 

engaged to him. On July 2, 2018, the victim went to a police station to talk to the police. 

The videotape of the interview was played for the jury at trial. The victim said she and 

defendant had a history of domestic violence, and she had a restraining order against him. 

However, defendant’s father had passed away, and defendant said he needed a place to 

stay for a while, so she let him stay with her. He stayed for about one month before the 

victim decided he needed to leave. Defendant was doing drugs while he stayed with her, 

and she told him she did not want him there anymore since he did not have his drug 

problem under control. Defendant locked himself in the bathroom, and she told him he 

2

 People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero). 
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needed to pack his belongings. He said he was not going to leave. The victim said if he 

did not leave, she would call the police and have him removed under the restraining 

order. Defendant came out of the bathroom, grabbed the victim by the collar, and shoved 

her against the wall. He pushed her onto the bed and got on top of her. He pulled her 

hair, grabbed her with both hands around her neck, and tried to choke her. The victim 

kept telling him he needed to leave. He said he had nowhere to go, and she was not 

going to kick him out on the street. At some point, defendant snapped back up and 

pushed her against the wall, and he released her. The victim grabbed her dogs, went 

outside to her car, and sat in her car crying.

The victim thought she had locked the car door but had not. Defendant came 

outside, opened the car door, and told her he would “cut [her] f--ing head off” if she 

called the cops. He also said that it would take the police at least 45 minutes to get there, 

and they would “have a very good reason to f---ing pick [her] up into (sic) pieces and f---

king haul [him] off to jail.” The victim was very afraid. She said she went into “survivor 

mode,” went back into the house, and acted like she went to sleep. She got up early the 

next morning and went to the police station. Officer Garcia observed scratches on the 

victim’s neck and upper chest.

At trial, the victim testified but denied that there had ever been any domestic 

violence between her and defendant or that he had ever threatened to hurt her. She 

admitted she went to the police station on July 2, 2018, and said she and defendant had a 

heated argument the day before. She testified that she spoke with an officer about what 

happened but lied when she said defendant had choked her. She essentially testified that 
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everything she told the officer was not true, and she lied to the police because she was 

angry with defendant.

ANALYSIS

I. The Court Erroneously Believed It Was Required to Impose the Sentence on Count 3 

Consecutively

Defendant argues that the court erroneously understood that it was required to 

impose the term on count 3 consecutively, and the matter must be remanded for 

resentencing. The People concede that the court was unaware that it had discretion to 

sentence defendant either consecutively or concurrently on count 3, but argue that 

remand is unnecessary, since “it is highly unlikely” the court would have sentenced him 

differently. We agree with defendant that the matter should be remanded for the court to 

exercise its discretion.

A. Background

At the sentencing hearing, the court stated that defendant did not fall outside the 

scheme of the three strikes law and denied his request to dismiss his prior strike under 

Romero. It noted that the circumstances of the offense were “very serious” and that “this 

was a very violent act.” It also observed that defendant’s offenses were increasing in 

violence.

The court then stated: “The only struggle, I think, is whether the court should just 

grant the motion to strike the 667(a), nickel prior, and I guess just on balance . . . the 

Court has, I think, to strike that, but I think whether the Court should exercise its 

discretion, it’s a very hard decision. [¶] I have to say I’ve gone back and forth a little bit 
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over it, because if I were to—I’ll tell you what I’m—–what I’m going to do in terms of 

the sentencing. I do think that Count 1 is the principal term here. I would choose the 

midterm of three years. Count 3, and this is pursuant [to] 1170.15, must be served 

consecutive.” (Italics added.) The court found the middle term was also appropriate on 

count 3. It then stayed the sentences on counts 2 and 4 under section 654.

B. The Matter Should Be Remanded

The court stated its understanding of section 1170.15 was that it required 

imposition of a consecutive sentence on count 3. This issue was addressed in People v. 

Woodworth (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 1473 (Woodworth). The court explained: “Section 

1170 provides the basic framework for California’s determinate sentencing law. Section 

1170.1, subdivision (a) explains that if a defendant is to be sentenced for more than one 

felony, the total term of imprisonment is the aggregate term for all the convictions. The 

aggregate term is determined by imposition of a full sentence on the felony with the 

greatest term of imprisonment including enhancements (the principal term), and then 

adding a one-third the midterm sentence for each felony for which a consecutive sentence 

is imposed, including one-third the term for any enhancements applicable to those 

felonies (the subordinate term(s)).” (Id. at p. 1478.) 

However, section 1170.15 is an exception to that rule. It provides that “when a 

defendant is convicted of a felony, and also convicted of a second felony for a violation 

of section 136.1 (dissuading a witness) involving a witness to the first felony, ‘the 

subordinate term for each consecutive offense’ of dissuading a witness must be the full 

middle term for the dissuading a witness count plus any enhancements applicable to that 
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count.” (Woodworth, supra, 245 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1478-1479.) The Woodworth court 

held that “the plain language of section 1170.15 does not mandate consecutive 

sentences.” (Id. at p. 1479.) It explained that the statutory language “requires the trial 

court to impose the full middle term of imprisonment only if a consecutive sentence is 

imposed. The section does not require the trial court to impose a consecutive sentence, 

but instead indicates that if the trial court chooses consecutive sentencing it must impose 

a full-term sentence for the witness dissuasion count.” (Ibid.)

The Woodworth court concluded: “Error occurred because the trial court did not 

realize it had discretion to impose a concurrent sentence. ‘Generally, when the record 

shows that the trial court proceeded with sentencing on the erroneous assumption it 

lacked discretion, remand is necessary so that the trial court may have the opportunity to 

exercise its sentencing discretion at a new sentencing hearing. [Citations.] Defendants 

are entitled to “sentencing decisions made in the exercise of the ‘informed discretion’ of 

the sentencing court,” and a court that is unaware of its discretionary authority cannot 

exercise its informed discretion.’ ” (Woodworth, supra, 245 Cal.App.4th at p. 1480.)

The People here concede that the court had discretion to sentence defendant to 

either a consecutive or concurrent term on count 3 and that the court “may have been 

unaware” of such discretion. However, like the Attorney General in Woodworth, the 

People urge us to conclude the error was harmless because the record establishes remand 

would be an idle act, since the trial court would impose the same sentence even if it 

exercised its discretion. (See Woodworth, supra, 245 Cal.App.4th at p. 1480.) The 

People assert that the court imposed a sentence it believed to be appropriate, with no 
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indication that “it felt constrained by its belief that count three must be run consecutively 

to count one.” The People point to the court’s refusal to exercise its discretion to dismiss 

defendant’s prior strike and contend that “it would not seem that the court contemplated a 

sentence lower than 12 years.”

However, the record reveals that the court chose not to dismiss defendant’s prior 

strike conviction and “struggled with this [decision] greatly because the case [was] very 

serious.” The court then chose to dismiss the five-year enhancement under section 667, 

subdivision (a). In doing so, it stated several times that it “struggle[d]” to decide, said 

“it’s a very hard decision,” and said it went “back and forth a little bit over it.” In view of 

the court’s comments, which reveal its struggle to determine an appropriate sentence, it is 

not clear what the court would have done if it had realized it had discretion to impose a 

concurrent sentence on count 3.

On this record, we are not willing to conclude that the court still would have 

sentenced defendant consecutively on count 3, as the People claim. Therefore, we will 

remand the matter for the court to have an opportunity to exercise its discretion whether 

to impose a concurrent or consecutive sentence on count 3. (See Woodworth, supra, 245 

Cal.App.4th at p. 1480.) 

II. The Court Properly Declined to Apply Section 654 to the Sentence on Count 3

Defendant next contends his sentence on count 3 should have been stayed pursuant 

to section 654 since the offense (dissuading a witness) was part of an indivisible course 

of conduct with the infliction of corporal injury in count 1. He argues that both offenses 

had the same intent and objective of instilling fear in the victim so that she would stop 
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insisting that he leave her home. Defendant maintains that punishment was only 

warranted for the infliction of corporal injury in count 1. We disagree.

A. Section 654

Section 654, subdivision (a) provides, in pertinent part, that “[a]n act or omission 

that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under 

the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case 

shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision. . . .” “Section 654 

precludes multiple punishments for a single act or indivisible course of conduct. 

[Citation.]” (People v. Hester (2000) 22 Cal.4th 290, 294.) “The purpose of section 654 

is to prevent multiple punishment for a single act or omission [or indivisible course of 

conduct], even though that act or omission [or indivisible course of conduct] violates 

more than one statute and thus constitutes more than one crime. . . .” (People v. Liu

(1996) 46 Cal.App.4th 1119, 1135 (Liu); see People v. Harrison (1989) 48 Cal.3d 321, 

335.)

“The divisibility of a course of conduct depends upon the intent and objective of 

the defendant. If all the offenses are incidental to one objective, the defendant may be 

punished for any one of them, but not for more than one. On the other hand, if the 

evidence discloses that a defendant entertained multiple criminal objectives which were 

independent of and not merely incidental to each other, the trial court may impose 

punishment for independent violations committed in pursuit of each objective even 

though the violations shared common acts or were parts of an otherwise indivisible 

course of conduct. [Citations.] The principal inquiry in each case is whether the 
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defendant’s criminal intent and objective were single or multiple. Each case must be 

determined on its own facts. [Citations.] The question whether the defendant entertained 

multiple criminal objectives is one of fact for the trial court, and its findings on this 

question will be upheld on appeal if there is any substantial evidence to support them. 

[Citations.]” (Liu, supra, 46 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1135-1136.)

B. The Court Properly Declined to Apply Section 654 to Count 3

At sentencing, defendant argued that, pursuant to section 654, all of the 

convictions were based on a single act, and that “[y]ou can’t have a criminal threat and 

intimidating a witness that relates to what happened prior. That’s all part of the same 

transaction.” The court stated that there were multiple acts within the same night and 

agreed that counts 2 and 3 were “654 of each other,” but did not think “Count 1 and the 

threats in either Count 2 or Count 3 [were] 654 of each other.” Thus, the court stayed the 

sentences on counts 2 and 4 pursuant to section 654, but did not apply section 654 to 

count 3.

Defendant’s claim that the term imposed on count 3 should have been stayed 

under section 654 is without merit. He claims the offenses in counts 1 and 3 comprised

an indivisible course of conduct in which the offenses were incidental to the one 

objective of “instill[ing] fear in [the victim] so that she would stop insisting [he] leave her 

home.” However, the record shows he harbored separate criminal intents and objectives. 

In count 1, defendant was convicted of inflicting corporal injury on the victim. When she 

told defendant he needed to pack his belongings and leave, he refused and became angry. 

He grabbed her by the collar, shoved her against the wall, pushed her onto the bed, and 
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got on top of her. He pulled her hair, grabbed her with both hands around her neck, and 

tried to choke her. Defendant’s objective in count 1 was to inflict pain and injury on the 

victim since he became angry when she told him he had to leave her home. In count 3, 

he was convicted of dissuading a witness by threat of force or violence. He went out to 

the victim’s car, where she had gone to escape, and told her that if she called the cops, he 

would “cut [her] f----ing head off.” He said it would take the police at least 45 minutes to 

get there, and that they would “have a very good reason to f----ing pick [her] up” in 

pieces and haul him off to jail. His objective was to prevent the victim from reporting his 

abuse to the police, not to continue inflicting injury on her. These objectives were 

distinct.

Therefore, despite the fact that the acts of counts 1 and 3 occurred on the same 

occasion, there is substantial evidence to support the determination that defendant 

harbored separate criminal intents and objectives. Accordingly, the court properly 

declined to apply section 654 to the sentence on count 3. 

II. No Remand is Necessary with Regard to the Disputed Fines and Fees

Defendant challenges the court’s imposition at sentencing of a $160 court 

operations assessment3(Pen. Code, § 1465.8), a $120 criminal conviction assessment 

(Gov. Code, § 70373), and a $300 restitution fine (Pen. Code, § 1202.4). Relying on the 

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 The court orally ordered defendant to pay $130 for the court operation fee. 

However, the court appears to have misspoke since section 1465.8 requires an assessment 

of $40 for each criminal conviction. (§ 1465.8, subd. (a)(1).) Defendant had four 

convictions; thus, the court was required to impose a total of $160. We note that the 

minute order and abstract of judgment reflect the imposition of $160. Thus, no correction 

to the record is necessary.
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recent appellate decision in Dueñas, supra, 30 Cal.App.5th 1157, defendant argues that 

the imposition of the fine and assessments without a hearing establishing his ability to 

pay violated his due process rights. (We will call this Dueñas error.) He notes the court 

found he did not have the ability to pay the fines and fees in the two probation violation 

cases, when defense counsel suggested the prosecution had the burden to prove he had 

the ability to pay under Dueñas. Thus, defendant requests this court to reverse the order

in the instant case imposing the assessments and stay the restitution fine, pending a 

hearing regarding his ability to pay. We conclude that remand is not necessary.

No remand is necessary since any Dueñas error was harmless. Dueñas, supra, 30 

Cal.App.5th 1157, involved a homeless probationer who suffered from cerebral palsy and 

was unable to work. She was married with two young children, and her family received 

public assistance. (Id., at pp. 1160-1161.) Her driver’s license was suspended when she 

could not pay some juvenile citations as a teenager. (Id. at p. 1161.) “She was then 

convicted of a series of misdemeanor offenses for driving with a suspended license, and 

in each case was given the impossible choice whether to ‘pay[]’ mandatory fees and 

fines—which she could not do, because of her poverty—or go to jail. [Citation.] After 

serving jail time in the first three of these cases, she still faced outstanding debt, which 

mounted with each conviction.” (People v. Johnson (2019) 35 Cal.App.5th 134, 138

(Johnson).) Upon her fourth conviction for driving with a suspended license, Dueñas

was placed on probation and again ordered to pay mandatory fees and fines. (Dueñas, 

supra, 30 Cal.App.5th at pp. 1161-1162.) She asked the court to set a hearing to 

determine her ability to pay the attorney fees and court fees she had been assessed. (Id. at 
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p. 1162.) The court held an ability to pay hearing and concluded that she lacked the 

ability to pay the attorney fees, and it waived them “on the basis of her indigence.” (Id.

at p. 1163.) However, the court stated that the $30 court facilities assessment (Govt. 

Code, § 70373) and $40 court operations assessment (Pen. Code, § 1465.8) “were both 

mandatory regardless of Dueñas’s inability to pay them.” (Dueñas, at p. 1163.)

Dueñas appealed and argued that “laws imposing fines and fees on people too

poor to pay punish the poor for their poverty.” (Dueñas, supra, 30 Cal.App.5th at 

p. 1164.) The appellate court agreed, concluding that due process “requires the trial court 

to conduct an ability to pay hearing and ascertain a defendant’s present ability to pay 

before it imposes court facilities and court operations assessments under Penal Code 

section 1465.8 and Government Code section 70373.” (Ibid.) The court also held that 

“although Penal Code section 1202.4 bars consideration of a defendant’s ability to pay 

unless the judge is considering increasing the fee over the statutory minimum, the 

execution of any restitution fine imposed under this statute must be stayed unless and 

until the trial court holds an ability to pay hearing and concludes that the defendant has 

the present ability to pay the restitution fine.” (Ibid.)

We first note that the facts in the instant case bear no similarity to the unique 

factual circumstances presented in Dueñas. The Dueñas court observed that the record in 

that case “illustrate[d] the cascading consequences of imposing fines and assessments 

that a defendant cannot pay.” (Dueñas, supra, 30 Cal.App.5th at p. 1163.) It also noted 

that the case did not “ ‘stem from one case for which she’s not capable of paying the fines 
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and fees,’ but from a series of criminal proceedings driven by, and contributing to, 

Dueñas’s poverty.” (Id. at p. 1164.) There were no such similar circumstances here.

Furthermore, any error in failing to conduct an ability to pay hearing was 

harmless. “A ‘ “very limited class” ’ of federal constitutional errors are ‘subject to per se 

reversal’; all others are ‘amenable to harmless error analysis.’ [Citations.] Dueñas did 

not address whether Dueñas error requires an automatic reversal.” (People v. Jones

(2019) 36 Cal.App.5th 1028, 1035.) “We therefore consider whether the error here was 

harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Ibid.; see Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 

18, 24.)

The record here shows that defendant began working as a security officer when he 

was 18 years old, after graduating from high school, and that he became a certified 

security officer after training at an academy in 2007. In 2017, he worked as a security 

officer and earned $11.00 per hour. He reported other income as $200 per month from “ 

‘stealing and selling’ various items.” Although “[t]hese are hardly indications of wealth 

. . . there is enough evidence in the . . . record to conclude that the total amount involved 

here did not saddle [defendant] with a financial burden anything like the inescapable, 

government-imposed debt trap Velia Dueñas faced.” (Johnson, supra, 35 Cal.App.5th at 

p. 139.)

Moreover, not only does the record show defendant had some past income-earning 

capacity, he will have the ability to earn prison wages while incarcerated. (See People v. 

Hennessey (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1830 [ability to pay includes a defendant’s ability to 

obtain prison wages]; see also Johnson, supra, 35 Cal.App.5th at p. 139; Jones, supra, 36 
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Cal.App.5th at p. 1035.) He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 14 years in prison. 

Even if, for some reason, defendant does not earn enough in prison wages, there is no 

reason to believe he will not be able to earn enough to pay whatever sum is then left. In 

other words, on this record, the idea that defendant cannot afford to pay the $580 in 

ordered fines and fees is untenable.

In sum, “even if we were to assume [defendant] is correct that he suffered a due 

process violation when the court imposed this rather modest financial burden on him 

without taking his ability to pay into account” (Johnson, supra, 35 Cal.App.5th at 

pp. 139-140), there is no reason to doubt defendant has, or will have, the ability to pay 

the $580. Accordingly, on this record, we conclude the Dueñas error was harmless. 

(Jones, supra, 36 Cal.App.5th at p. 1035; see Johnson, at pp. 139-140.)

DISPOSITION

The matter is remanded for the limited purpose of allowing the trial court the 

opportunity to exercise its discretion whether to impose a consecutive or concurrent 

sentence on count 3, under Penal Code section 1170.15. In all other respects, the 

judgment is affirmed.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

FIELDS

J.

We concur:

CODRINGTON

Acting P. J.

SLOUGH

J.