People v. Markos

SHINN, P. J.

Prank P. Markos was charged with four violations of Penal Code, section 476a (issuing a check without sufficient funds), and with two prior convictions of the same offense. He pleaded not guilty and denied the former convictions. Trial was to the court. The evidence consisted of that received at the preliminary hearing and additional evidence introduced at the trial. The court found him guilty on each count and found the prior convictions to be true. He appeals from the judgment. Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the judgment and that the court erred in denying him a continuance to secure the attendance of a material witness for the defense.

There was evidence of the following facts: Defendant was one of the owners of the Ferris Charles Exploration Company, which was formed in late April or early May, 1955. Its business was to locate uranium and other precious minerals. Defendant maintained a checking account in the name of Charles Exploration Company at the Inglewood Branch of the Bank of America. The authorized drawer was Perris Charles, a name used by defendant. The account was closed by the bank on May 27, 1955, after it had been attached. The balance prior to the attachment was $6.14. Defendant made no arrangements for credit with the bank and there was no subsequent deposit to the account. The bank’s policy is to send written notice to a depositor if his account is closed due to an attachment.

Arthur Ayvazian, a grocery clerk, cashed for defendant a

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$125 check of the Charles Exploration Company, dated May 30, 1955. The check was signed “Ferris Charles” and drawn on the above mentioned bank. Stanley Slago, a waiter at a restaurant, cashed for defendant a $100 check of the Charles Exploration Company, dated June 9, 1955, signed and drawn as above. Stanley Price cashed for defendant a $100 check of the Charles Exploration Company, dated June 9, 1955, likewise signed and drawn as above. George Waidner accepted from defendant a check of the Charles Exploration Company in the amount of $304.58, dated June 18, 1955, also signed and drawn as above. The check was in payment for a scintillator used in prospecting for uranium. The four checks were dishonored by defendant’s bank.

Defendant testified that he had agreed with the Otay Agricultural Corporation to run tests for mineral content on land owned by it in San Diego County. He was in continuous telephone contact with the corporation’s president, Stephen Birch, who was in New York. Markos worked for Birch until about June 28, 1955. During May and the early part of June, Birch was to deposit $350 per day for sixteen days into defendant’s bank account for work Markos had already done. Birch told him over the telephone, that the money had been deposited. Markos assumed that it had been. He never received a statement from the bank and thought the money was there. He admitted drawing the checks. He stated that he talked to Birch about a dozen times after his arrest, asking Birch to come to California to straighten the matter up, and Birch told him he would come to California after January 1st to close up the corporation’s books for the year and that he would settle with defendant at that time.