In re R.C.
R.C. (appellant), born in 1993, appeals a juvenile court dispositional order continuing him as a ward of the court and committing him to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).[1] Section 733, subdivision (c) of the Welfare and Institutions Code[2] precludes the court from committing a minor to DJJ unless, among other things, “the most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court†is a DJJ-eligible offense. Appellant contends that section 733, subdivision (c) bars the court from committing him to DJJ because his most recent offense was not a DJJ-eligible offense. Appellant contends the most recent DJJ-eligible offense date is controlling. The People assert the most recent filed and adjudicated petition date controls.
We find no ambiguity in the statutory language. We interpret the statute’s reference to “the most recent offense alleged in any petition†to mean the offense that occurred last in chronological order. We vacate the juvenile court’s order committing appellant to DJJ and remand the matter for proper disposition.
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