## Facts

- Nicholas Robert Zangari was detained at a Home Depot after obtaining a cash refund for store merchandise and admitted the conduct.
- In California, Zangari entered a no-contest plea to felony petty theft with a prior (Cal. Penal Code § 666); a commercial burglary charge was dismissed as part of the plea.
- The prosecution alleged a prior “strike” based on an Oregon conviction for first-degree burglary committed in 1994.
- Zangari waived a jury on the prior; after a court trial, the trial court found the Oregon prior true and found it qualified as a strike.
- The trial court imposed a 16-month mitigated term, doubled to 32 months under the Three Strikes law.
- On appeal, Zangari challenged only whether the Oregon burglary conviction qualified as a strike.

## Issues

1. Whether the record of conviction for Zangari’s Oregon first-degree burglary established conduct satisfying all elements of a California serious felony (first-degree residential burglary) so the prior could be used as a strike.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment and sentence.
- The court held the Oregon first-degree burglary conviction qualified as a California serious-felony strike.
- The court concluded the record of conviction showed unlawful entry into a dwelling (house) with intent to commit theft, which would constitute California first-degree residential burglary.

## Legal Principles

- A foreign conviction counts as a California strike only if the prior, as shown by the record of conviction, includes conduct that satisfies all elements of the comparable California serious felony.
- In determining whether a foreign prior qualifies, the trier of fact may consider the entire record of the proceedings leading to judgment on the prior conviction (e.g., charging document, plea, judgment, factual basis), but may not go beyond that record.
- Even if a foreign statute can cover broader conduct than the California serious felony, a strike finding may be sustained where the record of conviction demonstrates the defendant’s actual conduct meets the California elements.

## Conclusion

Because the Oregon record of conviction established burglary of a dwelling with intent to commit theft, the prior was the equivalent of California first-degree residential burglary and properly treated as a serious-felony strike for Three Strikes sentencing.


People v. Zangari, 89 Cal. App. 4th 1436 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001)