People v. Spears

In People v. Spears (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 79, two defendants and several other men went to a house where one of the defendants struck the male resident on the head with a gun and accused him of stealing his marijuana crop. The defendants took the male resident to another location where they instructed him to locate the marijuana using the telephone or be killed. The defendants were arrested by police that day and were charged with numerous Penal Code violations. (Id. at pp. 81-82.) One defendant pled guilty to felony false imprisonment and admitted an arming enhancement. The other defendant pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and felony false imprisonment. However, each defendant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw their plea that was denied by the trial court. In reversing the trial court's denial of these motions, the Spears court found that the defendants had been led to believe that probation was likely when, in fact, it was statutorily disfavored and required the finding of unusual circumstances. (Id. at p. 87.)