It was not error for a trial court to refuse to apply Penal Code section 654 to stay multiple sentences for sale of methadone even though the separate sales all occurred during a single football game, the Third District Court of Appeal held 12/16/08 in In re Noelle M. (C056780).
Section 654 of course is typically invoked to stay multiple sentences stemming from a single course of conduct. Here, though, the court rejects the idea that the appellant should get a lesser sentence, noting: “her culpability increased with each illegal act of selling the methadone pills. Each sale was unique and constituted a separate objective. Consequently, section 654 does not preclude the sentencing for each act of sale.”
