People v. Burns CA4/1 ( 2023 )


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  • Filed 6/6/23 P. v. Burns CA4/1
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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.
    COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION ONE
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    THE PEOPLE,                                                          D080239
    Plaintiff and Respondent,
    v.                                                         (Super. Ct. No. SCD273861)
    DERRICK LYLE BURNS,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County,
    Steven E. Stone, Judge. Affirmed.
    John L. Staley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for
    Defendant and Appellant.
    Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant
    Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Collette
    C. Cavalier, Kathryn Kirschbaum and Nora S. Weyl, Deputy Attorneys
    General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
    Defendant Derrick Lyle Burns appeals the denial of his petition for
    mental health diversion pursuant to Penal Code section 1001.36.1 The trial
    court concluded that Burns failed to make a prima facie showing he could
    safely be treated in the community without posing an unreasonable risk to
    public safety. (§ 1001.36, subds. (c)(4), (e).) Given his extensive criminal
    history, and in particular the circumstances of the current crimes, we cannot
    say this was an irrational conclusion. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s
    order.
    FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    In September 2017, Burns repeatedly struck his girlfriend, prompting
    bystanders to call 911. When officers responded to the scene, Burns led them
    on a high-speed vehicular chase. Toward the end of the chase, both he and
    his girlfriend jumped from the moving vehicle shortly before it collided
    unmanned with an oncoming car. Burns was eventually apprehended on foot
    and charged with various crimes. A jury convicted him of false imprisonment
    (§ 236), evading a police vehicle (Veh. Code, § 2800.2, subd. (a)), corporal
    injury on a cohabitant (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)), and two counts of
    assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). Burns admitted two prior
    strike convictions. The trial court struck one of them at sentencing and
    imposed a prison term of 19 years, eight months. (See People v. Burns (2019)
    
    38 Cal.App.5th 776
    , 780 (Burns I).)
    In the prior appeal, Burns argued the case should be remanded for
    mental health diversion proceedings under newly enacted section 1001.36.
    (Burns I, supra, 38 Cal.App.5th at p. 785.) We agreed with him that the new
    statute applied retroactively to nonfinal judgments on direct appeal. (Id. at
    1        Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.
    2
    p. 786; see People v. Frahs (2020) 
    9 Cal.5th 618
    , 631−632 (Frahs).) We read
    the record to include evidence that could bear on each of the six eligibility
    criteria. (Burns I, at pp. 788−789.) Attached to Burns’s sentencing brief was
    a postconviction psychological evaluation by Dr. Cynthia Boyd, in which she
    diagnosed Burns with PTSD from a 2016 gunshot wound and concluded he
    had experienced a “fear driven limbic system response” outside his “volitional
    control” when confronted by police. (Id. at p. 788.) His PTSD symptoms
    lingered because he did not seek psychiatric treatment. Based on this
    evidence, we could not conclude that remand would be futile and
    conditionally reversed for an eligibility hearing. (Burns I, at p. 790; see
    Frahs, at p. 640.) We “express[ed] no view as to whether Burns [would] be
    able to show eligibility on remand or whether the trial court should exercise
    its discretion to grant diversion if it [found] him eligible.” (Burns I, at p. 790.)
    On remand, Burns filed a petition for diversion, attaching Dr. Boyd’s
    2018 evaluation. He also attached a 2021 evaluation by Dr. Robert Kelin.
    After meeting with Burns, Kelin concluded he was “experiencing some type of
    psychopathology” and hearing voices. Kelin opined that Burns struggled to
    manage his internal stimuli, which led him to behave erratically. He also
    seemed depressed, but that could stem from being incarcerated. Kelin
    diagnosed Burns with schizophreniform disorder, conduct disorder, and
    amphetamine use and could not rule out posttraumatic stress. Burns’s
    primary psychopathology included “auditory and visual hallucinations as well
    as delusions of being contacted by his ancestors,” which led him to be
    “overwhelmed by problems” and turn to drugs or act out. Kelin believed
    Burns needed more intensive mental health treatment, including structured
    therapy. He also thought Burns would benefit from drug treatment, as
    Burns continued to use alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine in prison.
    3
    The People opposed Burns’s petition. They questioned whether he
    sufficiently established a qualifying mental disorder or a link between the
    crimes and his mental health. Moreover, they claimed Burns posed an
    unreasonable risk of danger to public safety if treated in the community
    based on his violent criminal history and current offenses, which were
    committed while on active parole. To the extent Burns was deemed
    statutorily eligible for diversion, the People urged the court to exercise its
    discretion to deny the request.
    The matter was heard at a March 2022 video hearing, where the trial
    court summarily denied Burns’s petition on the papers, rejecting the defense
    request to present live testimony. The court did not deem this a close case,
    finding no prima facie showing as to any of the six threshold eligibility
    criteria under section 1001.36. Because only three of the criteria are
    contested on appeal, we highlight those.2
    As to the first eligibility factor under section 1001.36, the court
    determined that Burns failed to make a prima facie showing he suffered from
    a qualifying mental disorder. (§ 1001.36, subd. (b)(1).) The two reports he
    submitted gave conflicting diagnoses. Dr. Boyd diagnosed Burns with PTSD
    and ruled out delusional and paranoid thinking. In the court’s view, that
    finding was not surprising, where Burns told Dr. Kelin that his
    hallucinations were attributable to methamphetamine-induced psychosis
    2      Both Burns and his counsel addressed the court at the hearing. At
    various points, Burns appeared confused as to what a prima facie showing
    entailed. He read the opinion in Burns I, which he mistakenly referred to as
    a Supreme Court ruling, as having decided that he met all six eligibility
    criteria for mental health diversion. To the contrary, Burns I left it to the
    trial court to determine whether Burns established a prima facie showing of
    eligibility, and if he did, whether to exercise its discretion to grant diversion.
    (Burns I, supra, 38 Cal.App.5th at p. 790.)
    4
    while in prison. Noting that both psychologists had relied primarily on
    Burns’s own statements in reaching their conclusions, the court discounted
    both reports, noting Burns had been shown to lie. When Burns interjected
    that he never lied to Boyd, the court muted his microphone and commented
    that his outburst was not reflective of “somebody who has mental health
    issues,” but rather “someone who’s unhappy about the court’s ruling.” The
    court also reasoned that even accepting Boyd’s account, PTSD could not
    explain his violent assault on his girlfriend before police arrived and drew
    weapons.
    Moving on, the court determined that Burns failed to link any mental
    disorder to the commission of the crimes. (§ 1001.36, subd. (b)(2).) In its
    view, the trial evidence proved that Burns fled from police because he was on
    parole, had just beaten his girlfriend in public, and knew the consequences of
    a new felony case. He was on cocaine and Xanax at the time of the offense
    and went to great lengths to get away, nearly causing multiple deaths.
    Again, Burns’s violent acts began before police arrived. While Dr. Boyd
    linked Burns’s PTSD to his flight on seeing police draw a gun, that did not
    explain his earlier criminal conduct.
    Beyond any other factor,3 the court zeroed in on whether Burns proved
    a prima facie case that he could safely be treated in the community. On this,
    the court readily found that diversion would pose an unreasonable risk of
    danger to public safety, as defined in section 1170.18. (§ 1001.36, subd.
    (c)(4).) Burns’s criminal history was “extensive and violent,” and he was on
    3      The court briefly addressed whether Burns had made a prima facie
    showing that his symptoms would respond to treatment or that he consented
    to treatment, finding he failed to show either criteria. It also faulted Burns
    for not providing a specific treatment plan. These findings are not defended
    by the People on appeal.
    5
    active parole for his two prior strike convictions at the time of the offenses.
    By jumping out of a moving car, he “endangered the lives of countless
    citizens” as the car “continued down the street like an unmanned missile.”
    Earlier in the day, he violently assaulted his then-girlfriend after she
    announced being pregnant. Burns’s poor conduct persisted in prison with
    Burns using methamphetamine, drinking alcohol, and taking morphine pills.
    “If this is his conduct in prison,” the court wondered aloud, “imagine if he
    were in the community.” It harbored “no doubt” Burns would commit a super
    strike offense if treated in the community. “In fact,” the court continued,
    “looking at the Defendant’s conduct in prison since the sentencing, . . . had I
    known about that conduct and the Defendant’s complete lack of any attempts
    at rehabilitation, this Court would have sentenced him to 25 to life as
    requested by the People to ensure that the public is safe.” The court believed
    that Burns should serve his entire 19 year, eight month sentence, stating
    “[a]nything shorter will present a grave danger to the public.”
    In short, the court agreed with the People that “this case does not fall
    within the spirit of the pretrial mental health diversion statutes.” Finding
    Burns failed to meet his burden to show that diversion was warranted in this
    case, the court denied his petition.
    DISCUSSION
    Burns contends he made a prima facie showing as to each of the six
    eligibility factors under section 1001.36; he believes the trial court found
    otherwise by making improper credibility determinations. He further
    contests the trial court’s decision to rule on the papers without permitting
    live testimony by Dr. Boyd. We reject both claims. The court was not
    required to receive live testimony in evaluating whether Burns made a prima
    facie case. And it reasonably found on the papers that he failed to show he
    6
    could safely be treated in the community as required by section 1001.36,
    subdivision (c)(4).
    A.    Overview of Mental Health Diversion Under Section 1001.36
    The Legislature enacted section 1001.36 in 2018 to provide pretrial
    mental health diversion for defendants suffering from mental disorders that
    were a significant factor in the charged offense. (Stats. 2018, ch. 34, § 24
    (Assem. Bill No. 1810).) “The primary purposes of the legislation are to keep
    people with mental disorders from entering and reentering the criminal
    justice system while protecting public safety, to give counties discretion in
    developing and implementing diversion across a continuum of care settings,
    and to provide mental health rehabilitative services.” (People v. Qualkinbush
    (2022) 
    79 Cal.App.5th 879
    , 886, citing § 1005.35.)
    Where a defendant seeks diversion, a trial court may at any time
    evaluate whether he or she can make a prima facie showing of eligibility and
    suitability for it. (§ 1001.36, subd. (e).) “The hearing on the prima facie
    showing shall be informal and may proceed on offers of proof, reliable
    hearsay, and argument of counsel. If a prima facie showing is not made, the
    court may summarily deny the request for diversion . . . .” (Ibid.)4
    “If the defendant makes a prima facie showing that he or she meets all
    of the threshold eligibility requirements and the defendant and the offense
    4     Based on this plain statutory language, we readily dispose of Burns’s
    second contention on appeal. Because the trial court was not required to hold
    an evidentiary hearing in evaluating a prima facie case (People v. Bunas
    (2022) 
    79 Cal.App.5th 840
    , 863−865 (Bunas)), it did not err in rejecting the
    defense request to allow Dr. Boyd to testify. Even otherwise, there could be
    no prejudice from that evidentiary decision where counsel admitted Boyd
    would not provide “any further elaboration or any additional information that
    was not contained in her report.”
    7
    are suitable for diversion, and the trial court is satisfied that the
    recommended program of mental health treatment will meet the specialized
    mental health treatment needs of the defendant, then the court may grant
    pretrial diversion.” (Frahs, supra, 9 Cal.5th at p. 627.) A grant of pretrial
    diversion is discretionary and not mandatory, even where a defendant meets
    all of the threshold requirements. (People v. Gerson (2022) 
    80 Cal.App.5th 1067
    , 1080 (Gerson).)
    Where granted, diversion consists of the defendant receiving treatment
    in a community mental health program for up to two years. (Frahs, supra,
    9 Cal.5th at p. 627; § 1001.36, subd. (f)(1)(C).) The court may reinstate
    criminal proceedings if the defendant is charged with another crime or
    otherwise performs unsatisfactorily during diversion. (§ 1001.36, subd. (g).)
    But if the defendant performs satisfactorily, the court will dismiss criminal
    charges at the end of the diversionary period. (Id., subd. (h).)
    Section 1001.36 has been amended several times in its short history.
    At the time we decided Burns I and when the trial court held proceedings on
    remand, a defendant had to show six eligibility criteria to establish a basis
    for pretrial diversion. (§ 1001.36, former subd. (b) as amended by Stats.
    2018, ch. 1005, § 1 (Sen. Bill No. 215) effect. Jan. 1, 2019 and Stats. 2019,
    ch. 497, § 203 (Assem. Bill No. 991) effect. Jan. 1, 2020.) The statute has
    since been substantially rewritten. (See Stats. 2022, ch. 735, § 1 (Sen. Bill
    No. 1223) effect. Jan. 1, 2023.) The threshold requirements are now broken
    out into two bearing on a defendant’s eligibility for diversion (§ 1001.36, subd.
    (b)) and four pertaining to a defendant’s suitability for it (id., subd. (c)).
    Eligibility factors evaluate whether defendant has a qualifying mental
    disorder that was a significant factor in the crime. Suitability factors
    evaluate the defendant’s treatment prospects and public safety risk. (Id.,
    8
    subds. (b)−(c).) While potentially significant in other contexts, these changes
    do not affect our analysis on appeal because at all relevant times, the trial
    court could reject diversion if a defendant failed to show he or she would not
    pose “an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, as defined in Section
    1170.18, if treated in the community.” (Id., subd. (c)(4).)5
    We review a trial court’s denial of pretrial mental health diversion for
    abuse of discretion. (See § 1001.36, subd. (a) [“the court may, in its
    discretion, . . . grant pretrial diversion”]; People v. Moine (2021) 
    62 Cal.App.5th 440
    , 448−449 (Moine).) “A court abuses its discretion when it
    makes an arbitrary or capricious decision by applying the wrong legal
    standard [citations], or bases its decision on express or implied factual
    findings that are not supported by substantial evidence.” (Id. at p. 449.) On
    appeal from a trial court’s denial of diversion, the defendant bears the burden
    to prove both abuse of discretion and prejudice. (Bunas, supra, 79
    Cal.App.5th at p. 867 [court’s indication that it would not grant diversion
    irrespective of eligibility demonstrated lack of prejudice].)
    5      Were we to wade into other threshold factors, the changes might
    matter. Previously it was up to the court to decide whether the defendant
    sufficiently proved a mental disorder and demonstrated that it was a
    significant factor in the crimes. (§ 1001.36, former subd. (b)(1)(A)―(B), as
    amended by Stats. 2019, ch. 497.) Now if a defendant has been diagnosed
    with a mental disorder in the last five years, the court “shall find” that it was
    a significant factor in the commission of the charged crimes absent clear and
    convincing evidence otherwise. (§ 1001.36, subd. (b)(1)―(2), as amended by
    Stats. 2022, ch. 735, § 1.) But because we can uphold the trial court’s
    determination based on its assessment of Burns’s safety risk alone, we need
    not reach any other factors.
    9
    B.    The Trial Court Reasonably Determined That Burns Failed to Make a
    Prima Facie Case That He Could Safely be Treated in the Community.
    To be suitable for diversion, the court must find that the defendant
    “will not pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, as defined in
    Section 1170.18, if treated in the community.” (§ 1001.36, subd. (c)(4).)6 In
    making this determination, the court may consider the defendant’s history of
    violence and criminal activity, the offenses charged, opinions of the parties
    and mental health professionals, and any other relevant factor. (Ibid.)
    Through its cross reference to section 1170.18, the statute defines an
    unreasonable risk of danger to public safety to mean an unreasonable risk
    that a defendant will commit a “super strike” offense designated in section
    667, subdivision (e)(2)(C)(iv), including certain sexually violent offenses,
    homicide or attempted homicide, assault with a machine gun on a police
    officer or firefighter, and any serious or violent felony punishable by death or
    life imprisonment. (See Moine, supra, 62 Cal.App.5th at pp. 449−450.) In
    other words, “the risk of danger is narrowly confined to the likelihood the
    defendant will commit a limited subset of violent felonies.” (Id. at p. 450.)
    Courts have construed this requirement strictly. In Moine, the trial
    court denied diversion on the sole basis that the defendant was too dangerous
    to be treated in the community. (Moine, supra, 62 Cal.App.5th at p. 449.)
    The appellate court rejected that finding where none of the defendant’s three
    past misdemeanor convictions for drug or alcohol offenses or prior hit-and-
    run involved a violent felony, let alone a super strike felony. While the
    pending charges involved allegations of violence and threats of violence,
    6      Section 1170.18 lays out the recall procedure for theft offenses
    reclassified under Proposition 47, with subdivision (c) defining the term
    “ ‘unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.’ ”
    10
    they were not super strike offenses. Nothing in the record suggested the
    defendant was likely to commit a super strike offense if he received mental
    health treatment in the community; to the contrary, two psychiatrists found
    him at low risk for future assault. (Id. at pp. 450−451.) The trial court had
    released the defendant into the community on bond for more than two years,
    indicating it shared that view. (Id. at p. 451.) The Moine court distinguished
    other cases involving defendants with long criminal histories involving
    violent felonies. (Ibid.) Because that was the sole basis for the trial court’s
    ruling, the Moine court remanded for a new hearing to consider the
    defendant’s eligibility for diversion. (Id. at p. 452.)
    People v. Williams (2021) 
    63 Cal.App.5th 990
     (Williams) was similar
    and followed Moine. The defendant stalked, harassed, and threatened a
    married couple who owned an autobody shop in retaliation for what he
    perceived to be racist treatment. (Williams, at p. 993.) The trial court
    denied diversion, concluding he posed an unreasonable risk to public safety.
    (Id. at p. 1000.) This finding was rejected on appeal under Moine. (Williams,
    at p. 1003.) As the court explained, the defendant had no criminal record
    apart from that case and had never actually assaulted anyone or engaged in
    violence. (Ibid.) The defendant’s charges were not super strike offenses; he
    showed remorse; the uncontroverted opinion of two mental health
    professionals was that he posed a low risk to public safety; there was no
    evidence that he owned or had access to weapons; and he was released on
    bond for more than two years without incident. (Ibid.)
    Our court reached a slightly different result in Bunas, supra, 
    79 Cal.App.5th 840
    . We found that the court erred in relying on the general
    objectives of sentencing (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.410) in denying diversion.
    Nevertheless, that error was harmless given the defendant’s violent history
    11
    and the court’s statement that the charged offenses were not suitable for
    diversion. The court’s comments suggested it did not intend to grant
    diversion irrespective of any improper reliance on sentencing objectives.
    (Bunas, at p. 861.)
    Two Proposition 47 cases distinguished by Moine also offer useful
    perspective. (See Moine, supra, 62 Cal.App.5th at p. 451.) In People v. Hall
    (2016) 
    247 Cal.App.4th 1255
    , the trial court reasonably found the defendant
    ineligible for resentencing where he had a decades-long history of felony
    convictions, including two prior strike convictions, and his criminal behavior
    had become increasingly violent. In the most recent offense resulting in a
    prison term, he had pressed a knife to the victim’s stomach while he was on
    probation; in a prior robbery, he threatened to kill his victim. (Id. at
    pp. 1265−1266.) Based on his recent criminal behavior and repeated failure
    to rehabilitate, the trial court could reasonably find that he presented “an
    elevated—and escalating—risk of not only threatening violence, but also
    using deadly force.” (Id. at p. 1266.) The court rejected defendant’s claim
    that “unreasonable risk to public safety” under section 1170.18 should only
    apply to offenders who had previously committed a super strike offense.
    (Hall, at p. 1266.)
    People v. Jefferson (2016) 
    1 Cal.App.5th 235
     (Jefferson) reached a
    similar conclusion. A defendant who stole a printer ink cartridge from a
    Kmart was denied diversion on the ground he posed an unreasonable risk of
    danger to public safety. (Id. at p. 245.) The trial court reasonably relied on
    his past robbery, assault, and battery convictions, combined with his multiple
    rule violations in prison and multiple parole violations to conclude he was
    likely to commit a super strike if resentenced. (Ibid.) The defendant
    personally used a firearm in the prior robbery and personally inflicted great
    12
    bodily injury on the robbery victim. Based on this evidence, the trial court
    could reasonably determine that the defendant was likely to commit murder,
    attempted murder, or solicitation to commit murder if resentenced under
    Proposition 47. (Jefferson, at p. 245.)
    Turning to our record, Burns maintained in his moving brief that the
    current charges, while serious, were done under the influence of drugs before
    he began addressing his sobriety or mental health in custody. While his prior
    convictions were serious in nature, none involved “super strike” felonies. In
    Burns’s view, there was no evidence to suggest he was likely to commit a
    violent felony in the future, and any such risk would be diminished by mental
    health treatment.
    By contrast, the People relied on Burns’s criminal history to argue that
    treating him in the community would pose an unreasonable safety risk. As a
    juvenile, Burns robbed a convenience store while shouting gang slurs and
    threatening to harm the store clerk. He also committed a residential
    burglary and commercial theft. As an adult, Burns committed two
    residential burglaries in 2013 for which he was sentenced to three years, four
    months in prison. After being released and while on parole, Burns was
    stopped for possessing a firearm and committed another residential burglary.
    Apart from the serious nature of the current offenses, the People
    additionally detailed uncharged criminal conduct. In 2017, while on parole,
    Burns was stopped in a vehicle with his gang affiliates in rival gang territory.
    A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded semiautomatic handgun and an
    additional loaded magazine in a backpack near where Burns was seated at
    the time of the stop. As the occupants of the vehicle were being arrested,
    Burns coached his girlfriend to claim ownership of the firearm.
    Postconviction, Burns had accumulated fresh charges and prison rule
    13
    violations for possessing methamphetamine and physically resisting and
    trying to spit on an officer who attempted to place him in handcuffs.
    A review of his prison records showed five disciplinary penalties over a six-
    month period in 2019.
    The People described Burns’s criminal history as “extensive and
    violent” and asserted it “demonstrate[d] a predatory nature that repeatedly
    put members of the community at risk.” He was on active parole for two
    strike priors when committing the current offenses, which “endangered the
    lives of countless citizens” and began with Burns “violently assaulting his
    then-girlfriend after she’d announced being pregnant.”
    Burns bore the burden of establishing a prima facie case of eligibility
    and suitability for mental health diversion. (Frahs, supra, 9 Cal.5th at
    p. 627.) That meant he had to prove that treating him in the community
    would not unreasonably risk his commission of a super strike offense. Given
    our record, the trial court could properly determine that Burns failed to meet
    his moving burden. The fact that Burns had not previously been convicted of
    a super strike offense did not preclude the court from concluding he stood at
    risk of committing one in the future. (People v. Hall, supra, 247 Cal.App.4th
    at p. 1266.) In the current case, Burns physically assaulted his pregnant
    girlfriend, led officers on a high-speed chase, and jumped from a moving
    vehicle that then hurtled toward an unsuspecting victim. Either of the two
    aggravated assaults (against the girlfriend or the driver of the second vehicle)
    could easily have resulted in death. While neither did, meaning Burns has
    never been convicted of a super strike, the court properly weighed the
    dangerousness of his conduct in evaluating his future risk of committing a
    super strike offense.
    14
    Burns committed these and other offenses while on parole and in the
    past had coached his girlfriend to accept responsibility for his crimes. His
    poor behavior continued in custody, where he managed to physically resist
    officers, rack up rule violations, and use methamphetamine. While the
    evaluators commented on his treatment prospects, they did not suggest he
    posed a low public safety risk. (Compare with Moine, supra, 62 Cal.App.5th
    at p. 451; Williams, supra, 63 Cal.App.5th at p. 1003.) His numerous prison
    rule violations further supported a reasonable finding that treating Burns in
    the community would present an unreasonable risk of danger to public
    safety. (See Jefferson, supra, 1 Cal.App.5th at p. 245.)
    We reject Burns’s contention that the trial court improperly relied on
    his general criminality rather than his specific risk of committing a super
    strike offense if treated in the community. The court highlighted the violent
    nature of his past offenses, the fact that the current crimes were committed
    while on parole, and his conduct in the current case that “endangered the
    lives of countless citizens” and ended with him jumping out of a moving car
    “as it continued down the street like an unmanned missile.” Considering all
    these circumstances, the judge expressed “no doubt” that Burns would
    commit a super strike offense if treated in the community. We cannot say
    this was an unreasonable conclusion.
    Burns argued that his serious crimes were mitigated because they were
    a product of his substance abuse. But Burns continued to use
    methamphetamine and other substances while in prison. Given his conduct
    in a custodial setting, the court could reasonably find that Burns had failed to
    establish a prima facie case he could be treated in the community without
    15
    posing an unreasonable risk of committing a super strike offense. We find no
    abuse of discretion.7
    DISPOSITION
    The order denying Burns’s petition for mental health diversion is
    affirmed.
    DATO, J.
    WE CONCUR:
    HUFFMAN, Acting P. J.
    IRION, J.
    7      The trial court was unequivocal that any sentence shorter than the 19
    years, eight months imposed “will present a grave danger to the public.”
    Moreover, it expressed the view that “this case does not fall within the spirit
    of the pretrial mental health diversion statutes.” Given these comments,
    even if the court should have found that Burns made a prima facie case of
    suitability for mental health diversion, remand would be futile where it
    clearly would not have exercised its discretion to grant diversion. (See
    Bunas, supra, 79 Cal.App.5th at p. 861; see also People v. Gerson, supra, 80
    Cal.App.5th at p. 1080.)
    16
    

Document Info

Docket Number: D080239

Filed Date: 6/6/2023

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 6/6/2023