People v. Holland

141 Cal.App.3d 795 (1983) 190 Cal. Rptr. 552 THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

ROBERT SETH HOLLAND, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. 42938. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Five.

April 11, 1983. [796] COUNSEL

Quin Denvir, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, and Richard Lennon, Deputy State Public Defender, for Defendant and Appellant.

George Deukmejian, Attorney General, Robert H. Philibosian, Chief Assistant Attorney General, S. Clark Moore, Assistant Attorney General, William R. Weisman and Edward T. Fogel, Jr., Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

HASTINGS, J.

This appeal concerns the retroactivity of the 1982 amendment to Penal Code section 487 (Stats. 1982, ch. 80, § 2 and ch. 375, § 1), which increased the threshold amount defining grand theft from $200 to $400. The statute was amended after the crime herein was committed, but did not take effect until January 1, 1983, when the judgment of conviction was not yet final. The issue here is which statute defines the crime: the one in effect at the time the crime was committed, or the amended statute. Appellant contends that he is entitled to the benefit of the amended statute, which in effect reduces his crime to a misdemeanor.

FACTS

Appellant has a long history of drug abuse. From January 11 to February 9, 1982, he was employed as a live-in caretaker for Harry Straitliff, an elderly stroke victim. During that period, appellant took nine pieces of sterling silver (and possibly other property) belonging to his employer. Appellant sold the silver to a dealer for $54, which he used to buy heroin and valium.

The silver was 31 years old, having been purchased at the time of the victim's marriage, and the pieces were worn from extensive use. The evidence presented at the preliminary hearing (primarily the testimony of silver retailer Leroy Hunt) was sufficient to establish that the value of the stolen pieces was in excess of $200, and the retail value, or replacement cost, was well over $400. The People, understandably, did not attempt to show that the value of the stolen pieces exceeded $400.