People v. Colby CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 21, 2022
DocketC091199
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Colby CA3 (People v. Colby CA3) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Colby CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 7/21/22 P. v. Colby CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Yolo) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C091199

v. (Super. Ct. No. CRF143983)

MARY ELIZABETH COLBY,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted Mary Elizabeth Colby, a former employee of the Washington Unified School District (District), of misappropriation of public monies, keeping a false account, fraudulently altering or falsifying an account, and grand theft, all in connection with the taking of cash deposits. The jury found that the value of the property taken

1 exceeded $950. The trial court suspended imposition of the sentence and placed defendant on probation for five years. Defendant now contends (1) the trial court should have instructed sua sponte on unanimity because counts 1 through 4 could be based on several acts and the prosecutor did not select a specific act upon which each count was based; (2) the expert witness testimony from Patrick DeLangis lacked foundation and included inadmissible case- specific hearsay, and if this contention is forfeited for failure to object, her counsel was ineffective; and (3) cumulative prejudice requires reversal of the convictions. We conclude (1) there was no instructional error on counts 1 and 4, and although the trial court should have given a unanimity instruction on counts 2 and 3, the error was harmless; (2) defendant forfeited her challenges to the expert testimony, and she fails to establish ineffective assistance; and (3) there is no cumulative prejudice. We will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Defendant worked with Scott Lantsberger and Doris Earl at the District. Lantsberger was the District’s assistant superintendent of business services and oversaw fiscal and other services. Defendant was Lantsberger’s administrative assistant. Among other things, she generated and sent out invoices for the rental of District facilities. Although it was not her responsibility to distribute mail, defendant regularly opened and distributed office mail. Earl, the District’s bookkeeper, logged facility-rental invoices into QSS, the District’s primary financial electronic system, and was responsible for collecting monies due and making deposits, including filling out deposit slips and stamping the backs of checks to be deposited. It was Earl’s and not defendant’s responsibility to make deposits at the bank. But defendant frequently volunteered to make deposits for Earl. According to Earl, the only other person who made bank deposits was Earl’s supervisor, Kilee Lane; Lane made deposits for Earl about once every five months.

2 Earl expected defendant to go directly to the bank when she entrusted defendant with the deposit bag. Earl did not keep deposits in her desk and she did not anticipate that defendant would do so. Earl also did not expect that defendant would go through deposits or check that deposit slips were accurate. Earl said that was not defendant’s job. Defendant never told Earl that Earl had filled out a deposit slip incorrectly or that checks were not stamped properly. Earl testified that the only time defendant would change a deposit slip was if Earl’s calculations were incorrect and the bank teller caught the error; in that circumstance, defendant would have to change and initial the deposit slip. Otherwise, there was no reason for defendant to change a deposit slip. And there was no reason for defendant to have access to the District’s deposit slips. Nevertheless, a book of deposit slips was found in defendant’s desk. In addition, Earl identified deposit slips for the District’s account that were written by defendant. Earl also identified endorsements on the backs of checks deposited into the District’s account that were written in defendant’s hand. According to Lantsberger, checks deposited in the District’s account were stamped with a deposit-only stamp that identified the District as the account holder and the District’s account number. Earl testified she never handwrote an endorsement on the back of a check. She said there was an address stamp on the back of a check deposited into the District’s account that was not her deposit-only stamp. Similar address stamps were found in defendant’s office. Lantsberger and the District superintendent met with defendant on June 24, 2013 about her personal use of the District’s postage meter. District employees were not allowed to use the District’s postage meter for personal items. Defendant admitted she took postage strips home to mail merchandise she sold on eBay. She told Lantsberger she paid for the postage. There was an invoice dated May 24, 2013 from the District to defendant for $155 for postage used in March through May 2013. At trial defendant admitted she created

3 that invoice. An automated log for invoices showed that the invoice was entered or modified on June 24, 2013 (the date of defendant’s meeting with Lantsberger and the superintendent), even though the invoice was dated May 24, 2013. Defendant told Lantsberger that in preparing the postage invoice, she rounded up the amounts due instead of using exact amounts; she said that was a common practice at the District. Lantsberger denied it was a practice, and other invoices for postage did not reflect a practice of rounding up. The postage invoice to defendant was stamped “PAID 06/28/2013.” In late 2013, Earl contacted Portside Montessori School about a past due invoice. She was told the invoice had been paid, and she obtained a copy of Portside Montessori School’s deposited check. She saw that defendant had hand-endorsed the check. Earl reported her finding to Lane. The District’s attorneys hired a forensic accountant to investigate the Portside Montessori School check and to determine whether there were discrepancies in deposits. Patrick DeLangis, a forensic accountant for over 25 years, was tasked with the investigation. The District gave DeLangis access to QuickBooks, which defendant used to create facility-rental invoices, and QSS and bank records. West Sacramento Police Department Officer Erik Thruelsen interviewed defendant on May 23, 2014. Defendant claimed she did not pick up the mail at the District. She admitted taking deposits to the bank but said everyone did that. She said Earl made mistakes on deposit slips and forgot to stamp the back of checks, and defendant covered for Earl so that Earl would not get in trouble. Defendant admitted she sometimes kept deposits Earl gave her in an unlocked desk drawer and on occasion, she did not make deposits for weeks. She said when she delayed making a deposit, she amended the deposit slip with a new date. Also sometimes Earl or other employees would bring additional payments to her and ask her to add those to the deposit.

4 Defendant said it was common knowledge that she kept the deposit bag in her desk and other employees may have taken items from the deposit bag or switched out items. DeLangis testified as a forensic accounting expert for the People at the trial. He testified that he focused on 21 deposit transactions and was able to trace cash payments using the District’s records. He examined how deposit slips and cash were handled and who had access to the deposits between the time Earl prepared the deposit slips and when deposits were made at the bank. DeLangis concluded that defendant was the last person to have access to cash deposits because she took the deposits to the bank.

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People v. Colby CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-colby-ca3-calctapp-2022.