A defendant convicted of shooting at an inhabited dwelling under Penal Code section 246, committed for the benefit of a street gang within the meaning of Penal Code section 186.22, subdivision (b)(4), is subject to the fifteen-percent custody credits limitation under Penal Code section 2933.1. Defendant argued that because the street gang enhancement resulted in the imposition of a life term, he was entitled to full custody credits under case law holding that prisoners sentenced to life terms under the Three Strikes law remained entitled to full custody credit. The Court of Appeal disagreed, noting that in those cases, the sole basis for applying the 2933.1 limitation was the life term itself, which was the result of the recidivist statute. Here, the offense for which the defendant was convicted is itself punishable by a life term, and falls squarely within the plain meaning of section 667.5(c)(7).
Case Summaries