People v. Woodson

SPENCE, J.

Defendant was convicted of the crime of grand theft. He has appealed from the judgment of conviction and the order denying a new trial.

Appellant seeks a reversal upon the grounds that there was a material variance between pleading and proof; that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a different

offense;

that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the conviction on the offense charged; that the trial court misdirected the jury and erred in refusing certain instructions offered by appellant.

[605]

Appellant did not take the stand at the trial and the evidence is uncontradicted on all material points. The indictment charged the unlawful taking of money. Appellant concedes the sufficiency of the evidence to show “a theft of a pass-book from Orlando Upton”. This being true, we need not set forth the false pretenses employed.

Turning to the indictment, we find that it charged that on a certain date appellant “unlawfully took the property of another, to-wit: Pacific States Savings and Loan Co., a corporation, who was then and there acting as clerk, agent and servant for one Orlando Upton, consisting of money in the sum and amount and of the valué of Two Thousand two hundred and eighty two ($2282.00) dollars in lawful money of the United States of America”.

The evidence showed that Orlando Upton had on deposit with the Pacific States Savings and Loan Company the sum of $2,282 and that said deposit was evidenced by a pass-book. At the time in question, that corporation was not paying out any part of the principal on any of its deposits. Said corporation had an auxiliary or subsidiary corporation known as Pacific States Auxiliary Corporation. The stock of both corporations was owned by a holding company. The two corporations occupied the same offices and had interlocking directors and officers. The auxiliary corporation was at that time taking assignments from depositors of the building and loan company and was paying said depositors 50 cents on the dollar for such assignments. The assigned accounts were then transferred to the auxiliary corporation on the books of the building and loan company.