Is section 654 of the California Criminal Code applicable where there are multiple verdicts of guilt for a crime committed against a different victim?

Section 654, subdivision (a) provides: "An act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision. An acquittal or conviction and sentence under any one bars a prosecution for the same act or omission under any other." Thus, section 654 proscribes multiple punishment for distinct crimes charged in separate counts that result in multiple verdicts of guilt "'[i]f all of the offenses were incident to one objective...."' (People v. Latimer (1993) 5 Cal.4th 1203, 1208.)

An exception to this general rule is recognized for multiple victims of a single violent act. Under the multiple victim exception, "'"even though a defendant entertains but a single principal objective during an indivisible course of conduct, he [or she] may be convicted and punished for each crime of violence committed against a different victim." [Citations.]'" (People v. Centers (1999) 73 Cal.App.4th 84, 99.) "Section 654 is not '... applicable where... one act has two results each of which is an act of violence

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