POSSESSION OF DRUGS FOR SALE AND CONSPIRACY TO POSSESS DRUGS FOR SALE
In this case, the defendant possessed heroin and methamphetamine in his motel room. The DA charged and got convictions for two counts of drug possession for sale, and two counts of conspiracy to possess those drugs for sale (there was another guy involved).
The Court of Appeal says that a defendant can be convicted on only one count of conspiracy to possess drugs for sale, no matter how many kinds of drugs he has. Moreover, they rule that the defendant can't be sentenced for both possession for sale and conspiracy to possess the same drugs for sale.
You would think this is a no-brainer, but this defendant has strike priors, so Penal Code sec. 667(c)(6) applies. That section makes it mandatory to impose consecutive sentences for felonies not committed on the same occasion and not arising from the same set of operative facts.
The Court of Appeals holds that conspiracy doesn't end at the commission of the first overt act but is continuing, so the conspiracy and the possession for sale did arise from the same set of operative facts. Thus, 667(c)(6) doesn't require consec. sentences.
People v. Briones; 2008 DJ DAR 15641; DJ, 10/13/08; C/A 2nd, Div. 6
