People v. Mitchell

164 Cal. App. 4th 442, 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 855, 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 968
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 26, 2008
DocketC052649
StatusPublished
Cited by82 cases

This text of 164 Cal. App. 4th 442 (People v. Mitchell) 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. Mitchell, 164 Cal. App. 4th 442, 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 855, 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 968 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Opinion

HULL, J.

Following her three-month employment as a caregiver for Billy C., an elderly and dependent adult, defendant used blank checks, credit cards and identifying information unlawfully taken from Billy to obtain cash, purchase automobiles and acquire other merchandise. She was convicted of 51 offenses, including 22 counts of forgery (Pen. Code, § 470, subd. (d)), four counts of receiving stolen property (id., § 496), three counts of wrongful use of personal identifying information (id., § 530.5), and various drug-related offenses. (Further undesignated section references are to the Penal Code.) Sentenced to an aggregate, unstayed term of 24 years in state prison, defendant appeals, raising 18 separate claims of error, some with subparts. We reject nearly all of these contentions. However, because we agree with a few, we shall reverse her conviction in part.

Facts and Proceedings

For the most part, the facts in this matter are undisputed. In August 2004, William C. hired defendant to work as a caregiver for his father, Billy C., who was 80 years old and not in good health.

At the time, William C. handled his father’s financial affairs. Billy C. had two bank accounts; a “Cash Maximizer Account,” from which money could be withdrawn only a few times each month; and a “Senior Checking Account.” Payments received by Billy were deposited in his Senior Checking Account. William kept a book of checks for Billy’s Senior Checking Account and paid Billy’s expenses using those checks. Other checks for the Senior *447 Checking Account were kept in a box under a desk next to Billy’s bed. Also kept in that box were various active credit cards assigned to either Billy or his deceased wife, Barbara C. Billy’s wallet with identifying information was kept in a dresser drawer in his bedroom. Various holiday ornaments and decorations were kept in the garage.

Defendant cared for Billy five days a week, living at the home during those days. Another caregiver, Jean M., cared for Billy the other two days. When defendant was not staying at Billy’s home, she resided with her sister.

In November 2004, William received a call from Jean M. informing him that defendant was on her way to Billy’s home to make the bed. William thought this was unusual because by that time Billy was already in bed asleep. He drove over to Billy’s house and found defendant and Jean M. there arguing. William told defendant she was not going to wake Billy up to make his bed and defendant departed.

The next day, defendant called William and asked if she still had her job. William said he would get back to her on it.

On November 28, defendant came into Bailey Motors and selected a 1994 Honda Accord to purchase. However, because the radio did not work, she did not complete the purchase at that time. The same day, defendant went to Attainable Auto and looked at a 1992 Honda Civic.

The next day, November 29, $10,000 was transferred from Billy’s Cash Maximizer Account to his Senior Checking Account via a telephone transaction. According to a bank representative, a person can transfer funds from one account to another over the phone if he or she has the last four digits of the account holder’s Social Security number.

Also on November 29, defendant returned to Attainable Auto and told the dealer her grandparents were giving her $5,000 to buy a car. The dealer told her the exact amount for the car out the door. Later that evening, around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., defendant returned with a check drawn on Billy’s Senior Checking Account and bought the car. The check was already filled out and signed, although defendant may have filled in the name of the dealership on the check after she arrived. The dealer did not try to verify the check with the bank because the bank was closed. The check was eventually dishonored.

Between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. that evening, defendant returned to Bailey Motors and, because the radio had been fixed, bought the Honda Accord she had looked at the day before. At the time, defendant told the dealer her grandfather was buying the car for her but was too sick to come in himself. *448 Defendant paid for the car with a check written on Billy’s Senior Checking Account. The check was eventually dishonored by the bank.

On November 30, $8,000 was transferred by telephone from Billy’s Cash Maximizer Account to his Senior Checking Account.

On November 30, between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., defendant walked into a Bank of America branch and attempted to cash a check for $400 written on Billy’s Senior Checking Account. However, the signature on the check did not match what was on file for the account and the teller called William C. William told her the check was no good and to call the police. When the teller went to speak with her assistant manager, she saw that defendant had left.

Also on November 30, defendant purchased a 2000 Dodge Stratus from All Star Motors. She had earlier asked for the price of the car out the door and arrived with a check on Billy’s Senior Checking Account already filled out. Defendant told the dealer her grandmother was buying the car for her. The check was eventually dishonored.

Sometime in December, Robyn G. purchased a 2000 Dodge Stratus from defendant for $3,000. Later, Robyn heard a report that the car had been stolen and turned it over to the police.

On December 9, Mellony S. purchased a 1992 Honda Civic from defendant for $1,500. However, when Mellony tried to register the vehicle at the Department of Motor Vehicles, she was arrested, because the car had been reported stolen.

At 7:20 p.m. on December 9, defendant entered a Mervyn’s store and used Barbara C.’s Mervyn’s credit card to purchase merchandise. She signed Barbara C.’s name to the charge receipt.

On December 10, defendant used Barbara C.’s J.C. Penney credit card to purchase $750 in gift certificates.

On December 14, defendant purchased a 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse from R&R Sales for $9,000. Defendant told the dealer at the time that her *449 grandfather was buying the car for her and had given her a check. Defendant filled in the name of the payee on the check. The check was later dishonored.

On December 17, defendant passed four checks on Billy C.’s Senior Checking Account at Wal-Mart to purchase merchandise. The checks were written in the amounts of $150.02, $200, $203.59 and $248.98 and contained the forged signature of Barbara C.

On the evening of December 20, Christine B. asked defendant for a ride home, and she and her boyfriend, Mike M., got into a 1996 Mitsubishi with defendant. At approximately 11:45 p.m., Sergeant Steve Solus of the Redding Police Department observed the Mitsubishi travelling on Interstate Highway 5 and, because it had been reported stolen, attempted to effect a traffic stop. However, instead of stopping, the Mitsubishi sped away, committing various traffic offenses along the way. Solus gave chase.

Solus eventually found the Mitsubishi stopped in a trailer park with the driver’s side door open and the driver’s seat empty. He found Christine B. and Mike M. still inside the car. However, the driver was never located.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
164 Cal. App. 4th 442, 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 855, 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 968, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mitchell-calctapp-2008.