From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

In re Lloyd B.

California Court of Appeals, Third District, San Joaquin
Mar 26, 2008
No. C055085 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 26, 2008)

Opinion


In re LLOYD B., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. LLOYD B., Defendant and Appellant. C055085 California Court of Appeal, Third District, San Joaquin March 26, 2008

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Super. Ct. No. 55820

BLEASE, Acting P. J.

Lloyd B., a minor, appeals from an order of the juvenile court committing him to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). He contends the commitment constituted an abuse of discretion by the court and that remand for a new disposition hearing is required. We disagree and shall affirm the order of commitment.

DISCUSSION

To justify a DJJ commitment there must be evidence in the record demonstrating probable benefit to the minor and evidence supporting a determination that less restrictive alternatives are ineffective or inappropriate. (In re Teofilio A. (1989) 210 Cal.App.3d 571, 576.) The juvenile court’s decision to commit a minor to DJJ will be reversed on appeal only upon a showing that the court abused its discretion in making the commitment. (In re Michael D. (1987) 188 Cal.App.3d 1392, 1395.)

At the time of the commitment, the minor’s record before the court was as follows:

In April 1999, when the minor was 10 years old (date of birth January 16, 1989), he pulled down the panties of a five-year-old girl, put his finger in her vagina and caused her to bleed. The matter was dismissed supposedly in the interest of justice.

In December 2002, the minor was involved in a fight at school, which resulted in his being declared a ward of the court and placed on unsupervised probation for 90 days.

In December 2004, the minor, aged 15, unsuccessfully attempted to elude police officers by means of a high speed chase. Cocaine and methamphetamine were found in the vehicle he was driving as well as a pair of brass knuckles. He was released on electronic monitoring pending disposition of a petition filed based upon the above conduct. In January 2005, he absconded from his residence and a bench warrant was issued.

In February 2005, the minor was arrested, and in April he was ordered into placement. He was placed at Rite of Passage, but in July he was terminated for lack of progress. He was again given a try at Rite of Passage but absconded from the program in January 2006.

In March 2006, the minor was observed by police buying rock cocaine, which the minor admitted having purchased for the purpose of reselling it. In June he was placed at Youth Recovery Unlimited, but absconded there from in July.

In November 2006, the minor, now 17, was stopped while driving a vehicle with an expired registration. He misidentified himself, admitted he had no driver’s license, and a search of the vehicle revealed a loaded semi-automatic handgun beneath the front seat. This conduct resulted in the sustaining against the minor of four related counts of firearm possession and one count of giving false information to a peace officer. He was committed to DJJ.

The minor argues the juvenile court abused its discretion in making the DJJ commitment because his record was “relatively minor,” he had only one violent offense (a school fight), he had a substance abuse problem which could be treated in a rehabilitation facility, he performed well while most recently in juvenile hall, and the court failed to consider less restrictive alternative programs. The argument is not persuasive.

We do not consider the minor’s record minimal. Although only 10 years old at the time, he sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl by pulling down her panties, inserting his finger in her vagina and causing her to bleed, showing a callous disregard for the child’s feelings. He engaged police in a high-speed automotive chase, thereby needlessly subjecting innocent people to potential serious or deadly injury. When finally stopped he was in possession of drugs as well as an illegal weapon, demonstrating a willingness to engage in violence. On another occasion, he was caught purchasing drugs which he intended to sell. He absconded three times from placements, showing a disregard for attempts to rehabilitate him. And in his latest encounter with the police, he was found with a loaded firearm in the vehicle he was illegally driving, again conduct which represents a serious threat to society.

In considering the appropriate disposition, the court observed the minor was ineligible for camp programs and that he repeatedly ran from his placements. Thus the court considered less restrictive alternatives, concluding the minor needed a secured setting and that a commitment to DJJ would afford him his best opportunity to alter his conduct so that he could enjoy a productive life. Consequently, the court did not abuse its discretion in making the commitment.

DISPOSITION

The order committing the minor to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice, is affirmed.

We concur: DAVIS, J., NICHOLSON, J.


Summaries of

In re Lloyd B.

California Court of Appeals, Third District, San Joaquin
Mar 26, 2008
No. C055085 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 26, 2008)
Case details for

In re Lloyd B.

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. LLOYD B., Defendant and Appellant.

Court:California Court of Appeals, Third District, San Joaquin

Date published: Mar 26, 2008

Citations

No. C055085 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 26, 2008)