Opinion ID: 2682521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Present Crimes

Text: The facts of the present crimes have no bearing on the legal issue we resolve in this case and so may be stated briefly. Petitioner Darlene Vargas and codefendant Oscar Velasquez illegally entered the Claremont home of victims Lynn Burrows and William Alves and stole various items, including a suitcase and a trash can. Defendants were detained while prowling near another home in the same neighborhood; police found them in possession of both burglary tools and items taken from the Burrows/Alves home. A witness later identified Velasquez and Vargas as the man and woman she saw walking near the victims‘ home with the suitcase and trash can. Vargas was charged and convicted of first degree burglary (§ 459), grand theft (§ 487, subd. (a)), and conspiracy to commit grand theft (§ 182, subd. (a)(1)). In addition, the court sustained allegations that she had suffered a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)), as well as two strikes within the meaning of the Three Strikes law: a 1999 conviction for carjacking (§ 215) and another for robbery (§ 211). Because her three present crimes (burglary, grand theft, conspiracy) were qualifying felonies under the version of the Three Strikes law 3 applicable at the time,3 all three felonies were potentially subject to enhancement by her two alleged strikes, rendering her vulnerable to three consecutive terms of 25 years to life, or an aggregate prison term of 75 years to life. She moved to dismiss the carjacking strike as to all counts. The trial court granted the motion in part, dismissing the carjacking strike conviction as to the grand theft and conspiracy counts, but declining to dismiss the remaining conviction for burglary.