People v. Tony R. (In re Tony R.)
| Docket Number | A166850 |
| Decision Date | 28 December 2023 |
| Parties | In re TONY R., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. v. TONY R., Defendant and Appellant. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
1
In re TONY R., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
TONY R., Defendant and Appellant.
A166850
California Court of Appeals, First District, Second Division
December 28, 2023
Solano County Superior Court No. J45405 Hon. David E. Power, Trial Judge:
Amanda K. Roze, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Assistant Attorney General, Seth K. Schalit, Lisa Ashley Ott, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
STEWART, P. J.
Under legislation governing the commitment of juvenile offenders to county level "secure youth treatment facilities," the juvenile court must review each case at least every six months and, at each six-month review hearing, has authority to reduce by up to six months the baseline term of confinement initially set at disposition. Tony R. appeals from the juvenile court's denial of his request for a reduction of his baseline term of confinement at his first six-month review hearing. He contends the court
lacked authority to deny the request and, to the extent it had such authority, abused its discretion. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
I.
Factual Background
A. The El Sobrante Offenses[1]
As Paraminder Soomal (age 59) and his father, Swarn Singh (age 84), were mowing the lawn at their home in El Sobrante on the evening of October 3, 2021, a BMW pulled up and three Black youths got out, all brandishing handguns, and begin beating Soomal and Singh. On video from the home's Ring camera, a voice can be heard saying" 'Hey everybody, give me your shit n---a.'" Singh backs up as Tony[2] shouts," 'take that watch off n---a, shut the fuck up and take that watch off n---a,'" and Singh falls backwards onto the porch. Tony appears to "forcefully take property off" Singh, who attempts to defend himself while lying on his back and swinging an electrical cord at Tony. During this struggle, Tony points the gun at Singh, throws a chair at Singh's head, and strikes Singh several times with the handgun. Soomal then strikes Tony's head with an empty plastic bucket and Tony falls to the ground briefly. Tony stands up and fires a round at Soomal, who falls and appears to lose all bodily function. Suspect 2 fires several rounds. The video shows only suspect 3's pants and shoes. When the police arrived at about 6:25 p.m., they found Soomal lying on his back,
bleeding from several gunshot wounds to his upper body. Singh was sitting on the stairs bleeding from a gunshot wound to his head, with a witness providing aid.
Singh's skull was fractured from a gunshot wound just above his left eyebrow. Interviewed at the hospital with the assistance of a Punjabi translator, Singh said that when the youths confronted them, he could not understand what they wanted because he speaks only Punjabi. He did not know the youths and had never seen them before. Soomal was paralyzed from the waist down and suffered severe internal bleeding due to a gunshot wound to his chest that exited his back and also had gunshot wounds to his right biceps and hip. Soomal remained in the hospital until December 2. On December 7, he told the police he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and continued to have nightmares about the incident. He was confused about why he and his father were attacked and said that if Singh had understood what they youths wanted, he would have complied. He said Singh was suffering from nerve damage and memory loss.
Subsequent police investigation determined that then 14-year-old Tony was one of the three youths involved in the incident and he was arrested on November 18, 2021. The other two youths involved were 16-year-old A.E. and 15-year-old C.E.
B. The Alleged Solano County Offenses[3]
On September 27, 2021, police officers responded to Vallejo High School regarding an assault involving a firearm. The vice principal told the officers that a parent had informed her on September 22, 2021, that her son W.B.
was assaulted and pistol whipped on September 20, 2021, during school hours, at First Presbyterian Church. W.B. told the vice principal he was lured to the church by his childhood friend G.H. Once there, they were contacted by A.E. (the 16 year old involved in the El Sobrante offenses), R.L, C.L. and Tony. At the direction of A.E., Tony held a gun to W.B.'s head while C.L. searched his person and backpack. During the incident, W.B. was pistol whipped in the head and suffered an unknown injury; a photo of the injury was requested but not received. School attendance records confirmed that W.B., Tony, G.H., C.L. and R.L were absent at the time of the incident. The vice principal called the police after the mother contacted her about threats to W.B. on social media by the suspects. The officers noted that screenshots from Instagram stories containing intimidating language that W.B. and his mother believed were threats against him did not clearly state specific threats of bodily harm and used "heavy slang terms and grammar." The vice principal later told officers she had received information from an anonymous student that a person believed to be Tony was seen armed with a gun on school property.[4]
II.
Legal Proceedings
A. Initial proceedings
As described in our opinion on Tony's appeal from the April 5, 2022 disposition order (In re T.R., A165072), Welfare and Institutions Code[5]
section 602 petitions were filed in Contra Costa County and Solano County. In the Contra Costa case, Tony pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187, subd. (a)) and one count of second degree robbery (id., §§ 211/212.5, subd. (c)) and admitted enhancements for personal use of a firearm (id., § 12022.5, subd. (a)), infliction of great bodily injury causing coma and paralysis (id., § 12022.7, subd. (b)) and infliction of great bodily injury on an elderly victim (id., § 12022.7, subd. (c)).
The case was transferred to Solano County, Tony's county of residence, and the Solano County petition was dismissed pursuant to the parties' agreement that the court could consider the underlying facts in ordering restitution and considering the appropriate disposition in the Contra Costa case. After a contested disposition hearing, Tony was committed to the Reaching Into Successful Endeavors (RISE) program for a maximum term of 11 years or until age 25, with a baseline term of four years. We affirmed this disposition order. (In re T.R., A165072.)
B. Proceedings Underlying the Present Appeal
As required by section 875, the probation department's report for the 30-day review hearing included an "Individualized Rehabilitation Plan" indicating "targeted areas of need" and programs and treatment Tony was participating in and was expected to participate in as he moved through the program. Tony had expressed interest in strengthening his communication skills and appeared happy to know there would be services aimed at this goal. A "Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI)" completed on December 8, 2021, assessed he was at high risk to reoffend in the community, had "high need" in the areas of "Education/Employment, Peer Relations, and Leisure/Recreation" and was "moderate risk" in the areas
of "Family Circumstances/Parenting, Substance Abuse, Personality/Behavior, and Attitudes/Orientation."
The probation report related that Tony was working on the "Responsivity Carey Guide,"[6] which was intended to tailor services to a youth's "preferred methods of communication and understanding of material." Prior to his arrest, Tony had not earned any high school credits due to unexcused absences and suspensions, but his current school grades were one A, one B and two Cs (3.5 credits) and he reportedly worked well in groups and communicated well with his teacher and peers. He was receptive to services and staff, believed the program could be beneficial for him and intended to "absorb the skills and knowledge being provided to him and seek an early exit from the program."
At the May 5 hearing, the court commented that it appeared Tony's needs were being addressed and he was doing well academically. Defense counsel, who had argued against commitment to RISE at disposition in part because the program, in her view, was not yet operational, told the court that the services Tony was receiving were the same as they had been before his commitment to RISE.
For the six-month review hearing on September 20, 2022, the probation officer reported that Tony was performing well and maintaining consistent progress. He had undergone assessments for needs related to delinquency, mental health and substance use, which identified needs in the areas of mental health, anger management, education support, substance abuse, individual counseling, employment skills, cognitive behavioral treatment and
independent living skills. Tony had acknowledged a need to address his ability to make rational decisions and the impact family dynamics had on his mental health and behavior, expressed a goal of attaining "self-sufficiency through education and employment" and was continuing to engage in treatment and interventions.
Tony had "completed tools 1-3 of the Anger Carey Guide," earned certificates for completing "Aggression Replacement Training" (a 30-session cognitive behavioral group), the "Rythmic [sic] Mind Program," the "Hidden Genius Grab Opportunities and Level Up" program, the eFoodHandler Basic Safety Course," and the "Work-Ready Certification Program." He was continuing to work individually and in group settings to complete Carey Guides, had begun working on "Courage to Change Interactive Journals," was engaged with the Omega Men's Group (a "culturally responsive mentoring group facilitated by Vallejo Unified School District"), was meeting...
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