P. v. Talamantez CA5

Filed 7/15/13 P. v. Talamantez CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F065024 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MF9744B) v.

VICTOR TALAMANTEZ, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. John D. Oglesby, Judge. Benjamin Owens, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Cornell, Acting P.J., Kane, J. and Franson, J.

A jury found appellant Victor Talamantez guilty of grand theft by larceny (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. (a)).1 The trial court sentenced Talamantez to the upper term of three years, to serve the first 18 months in custody and the remainder to be served on mandatory supervision. On appeal, Talamantez argues only that there is insufficient evidence to uphold the conviction. We disagree and affirm. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS On July 23, 2011, Ernest Dean Soest was driving to the 57-acre storage facility he operated in Mojave when he noticed Talamantez and another man outside a white pickup near the property‟s fenced gate. The two men were trying to dislodge the truck from some sort of obstruction. The chain securing the fenced entrance had been broken. The bed of the white truck had a load of metal pallets belonging to the storage facility. After dislodging the truck, Talamantez and his companion sped past Soest in the truck and continued down the road away from the storage facility. Soest chased the two for about five miles until the truck stopped after many of the pallets slid out of the truck bed. Soest then approached the truck on foot and saw Talamantez and his companion run away from the white pickup. Talamantez continued to run; his companion turned and approached Soest and tried to hit him with a piece of wood from the back of Soest‟s vehicle. After knocking Soest down, the companion pummeled him with his fists. The companion then took Soests‟s vehicle and drove away. The pallets were later recovered. DISCUSSION Sufficiency of the Evidence Talamantez contends there was insufficient evidence of the value of the stolen property to support a conviction for grand theft. We disagree. 1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.