People v. Morales CA2/8 ( 2014 )


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  • Filed 12/24/14 P. v. Morales CA2/8
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION EIGHT
    THE PEOPLE,                                                          B255300
    Plaintiff and Respondent,                                   (Los Angeles County
    Super. Ct. No. VA131455)
    v.
    MANUEL M. MORALES,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Raul A.
    Sahagun, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded with directions.
    James M. Crawford, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
    Appellant.
    Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney
    General, Linda C. Johnson and Theresa A. Patterson, Deputy Attorneys General, for
    Plaintiff and Respondent.
    __________________________
    Manuel M. Morales appeals from his conviction on one count of transporting
    heroin. He contends, and respondent concedes, that the trial court erred by not
    instructing the jury that it had to find Morales transported the drug in order to sell it. We
    therefore reverse the judgment and remand for resentencing on the remaining conviction
    for simple possession of heroin.
    FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
    In July 2013, 12 balloons containing heroin were found in Manuel M. Morales’s
    car after he consented to a search of the car following a traffic stop by Los Angeles
    County sheriff’s deputies. Morales was charged with one count of transporting heroin
    and one count of possessing the drug for sale. A jury trial began in January 2014.
    Morales was convicted of transporting heroin (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352, subd. (a)),
    acquitted of possession for sale, and convicted of the lesser included offense of simple
    possession. He was sentenced on the transportation charge to the midterm of four years,
    to be served in county jail. Sentence on the simple possession count was stayed. (Pen.
    Code, § 654.)
    Morales contends the trial court erred by not instructing the jury that in order to
    find him guilty of transporting heroin it also had to find he transported the drug for sale,
    pursuant to a recently effective amendment to Health and Safety Code section 11352.
    DISCUSSION
    Effective January 1, 2014, Health and Safety Code section 11352 was amended to
    add subdivision (c), which provided that a conviction for transporting drugs also requires
    proof that the defendant transported the drug for sale. (Stats. 2013, ch. 504, § 1.) Even
    though Morales did not request an instruction that included this new element of the
    offense, he contends his appeal is proper because the failure to give that instruction
    affected his substantial rights. (Pen. Code, § 1259.)
    Respondent concedes that the new legislation applied to Morales because the bill
    did not include a savings clause. (People v. Wright (2006) 
    40 Cal.4th 81
    , 94-95.)
    2
    Respondent also concedes that Morales’s conviction of simple possession and
    concomitant acquittal of the greater offense of possession for sale shows that the failure
    to instruct on the new element of the offense was prejudicial. According to both parties,
    we must therefore reverse the judgment as to the drug transportation conviction and
    remand for resentencing on the remaining conviction for simple possession of heroin.
    We agree.
    DISPOSITION
    The judgment is reversed as to only the conviction for transporting heroin. The
    matter is remanded to the trial court with directions to resentence Morales on the
    remaining conviction for simple possession of heroin.
    RUBIN, J.
    WE CONCUR:
    BIGELOW, P. J.
    FLIER, J.
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: B255300

Filed Date: 12/24/2014

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/17/2021