People v. Arceo

Opinion

PARAS, J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment (commitment to state prison) entered after a jury found him guilty of grand theft of an automobile (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 3).

I

Defendant’s first contention is that there is insufficient evidence to support the conviction since there are no facts in the record “. . . to allow an inference . . . that appellant was the one who on January 16, 1978, took possession of Saragoza’s car at Red’s bar and unlawfully drove it away. . . .”

It is a well-established rule that the test on appeal is whether there is substantial evidence to support the conclusion of the trier of fact. The court must view the evidence in a light most favorable to respondent and presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the trier could reasonably deduce from the evidence.

(People

v.

Williams

(1971) 5 Cal.3d 211, 214 [95 Cal.Rptr. 530, 485 P.2d 1146].) Furthermore, the “[possession of recently stolen property is so incriminating that only slight additional evidence is necessary to sustain a conviction [of grand theft], [Citation.] Evidence of a false explanation as to how the property came into defendant’s possession will suffice to sustain a conviction for its theft. [Citations.]”

(People

v.

Malamut

(1971) 16 Cal.App.3d 237, 241 [93 Cal.Rptr. 782].)

The record discloses defendant both had possession of the recently stolen automobile (a Pinto) and offered conflicting explanations as to how it was obtained. The Pinto was stolen from the parking lot of Red’s Club sometime between the evening of January 16, 1978, and the evening of January 17, 1978. Defendant and his two cousins dismantled it in a garage at the residence of his friend Cynthia Speers; Speers told this to police officers. Speers’ next door neighbor, Cheryl Brixley, told officers she had seen the yellow Pinto in Speers’ garage approximately a week or 10 days prior to January 23. This would place it in Speers’ garage at about the time of the theft. She also stated the Pinto was covered with a white “quilt type cover” or “moving van cover.”