Appellant was convicted of murder, robbery, and attempted robbery. The trial court imposed a total of seven separate 25-year-to-life enhancements against appellant pursuant to 12022.53, subdivision (d) for the discharge of a firearm during the offenses resulting in great bodily injury or death. On appeal, he argued that the only offense subject to the enhancement was the murder, since the victim of only that offense suffered great bodily injury or death. The appellate court here rejected that argument. The trial court properly imposed the enhancements on the other counts even though the victims of those crimes did not suffer great bodily injury or death. The language of section 12022.53 describes not just the victim of the enumerated felonies but any other person as long as they suffered the injury or death during the commission of the felony. The use of the firearm on the murder victim increased the harm and danger to all the victims, thus justifying the imposition of the enhancement on each of the robbery and attempted robbery counts.
Case Summaries