People v. Ross

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Opinion

THE COURT.

In each of five counts of an information the defendant Sanford Allan Ross was accused of the crime of grand theft. (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 1.) His motion under section 995 of the Penal Code was granted and the information was set aside. The People have appealed from the order setting aside the information. (Pen. Code, § 1238, subd. (a)(1).)

Between February 8 and April 1, 1971, the defendant, who was a licensed automobile dealer, bought 13 used vehicles from Automotive Rental Sales, Inc. In a total of five sales, the defendant sold those vehicles in March and April of the same year to Glen Organ Ford and Valley Dodge. At that time, the mileage represented on the odometers was less than the mileage so shown at the time the defendant bought the vehicles by a variance of 14,000 miles on three of the vehicles to over 30,000 on some of the other vehicles, including 43,000 on one of the vehicles. Each vehicle was sold for over $200. Both Scott Hamilton and Frank Van Buskirk of Glen Organ Ford and Frank Melton of Valley Dodge testified at the preliminary hearing that they would not have purchased these vehicles from the defendant had they known that the odometers had been changed as to the mileage registered.

The People contend that the provisions of section 11713, subdivision (n), of the Vehicle Code

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do not preclude prosecution of the defendant for theft under section 484 of the Penal Code. The defendant contends that where a general statute (Pen. Code, § 484) and a specific statute (Veh. Code, § 11713, subd. (n)) encompass the same offense, “they cannot stand together, and the specific statute will prevail.”

“The fundamental test as to whether statutes are in conflict with each other is the legislative intent. If it appears that the statutes were

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