High Court Gives Judges Leeway in 3-Strikes Sentencing

Judges do not have to impose multiple three-strikes sentences on criminals who rob several victims on the same occasion, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the court said judges can decide whether to make the 25-years-to-life sentences consecutive--adding up to hundreds of years in some cases--or concurrent, which would give the criminal some chance of parole.

It is the latest of several rulings by the state’s high court that preserve some latitude for sentencing under the 1994 three-strikes law.

The decision allows David Deloza, convicted in a 1995 robbery, to ask a judge to reduce his 111-year sentence to 36 years to life.

During the robbery of a Highland Park furniture store, Deloza took money from the cash register and two salesmen, and took a purse from a customer. He was convicted on four counts of armed robbery and had two previous serious felony convictions.

Superior Court Judge Charles Horan sentenced Deloza to 25 years to life for each of the robbery convictions and said he was required to make the sentences consecutive. Adding 11 years for the past convictions and Deloza’s use of a gun gave him a 111-year term.

Deloza’s four robberies “were committed essentially simultaneously against the same group of victims,” said the opinion by Justice Janice Rogers Brown. That leaves it to the judge to decide whether the sentences should be consecutive, she said.