People v. Swope

FRAMPTON, J. pro tem.

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Background

The defendant was charged by information number A-100782 with the crime of petty theft with a prior conviction of issuing bank checks without sufficient funds. He was also charged with a prior conviction of burglary with force in October 1944, in the State of Colorado, with larceny in March 1948, in the State of Colorado, and with violation of section

[142]

470 of the Penal Code (forgery) in April 1953, in Los Angeles County. Each of the foregoing priors was alleged to be a felony and it was further alleged that the defendant served a term of imprisonment on each prior. The defendant was also charged by information number A-101170 with the crime of forgery, a felony, in violation of section 470 of the Penal Code in count I, and with the crime of grand theft, a felony, in violation of section 487, subdivision 3 of the Penal Code in count II. Information number A-101170 alleged four prior convictions of felony and that the defendant had served a term of imprisonment in a state prison on each of such convictions. The priors alleged were as follows: Burglary with force, State of Colorado, October 1944; larceny, a felony, State of Colorado, March 1948; violation of section 470, Penal Code, State of California, April 1953; violation of section 476a, Penal Code, a felony, State of California, September 1958.

Upon arraignment the defendant entered pleas of not guilty as to the charges in each information and denied the priors. At the time of trial information number A-101170 was consolidated with information number A-100782 and counts I and II of the former information became counts II and III of the latter information. The allegations of prior convictions in the State of Colorado were stricken. A jury trial was duly waived as to count II of the information as consolidated (forgery, a felony, in violation of section 470, Penal Code), and the cause was submitted on the evidence adduced at the preliminary hearing of such charge with documentary evidence bearing upon the prior felony convictions in the State of California. The defendant was found guilty as charged, the allegations of the California priors were found to be true, probation was denied after hearing, and sentence to state prison followed. Upon pronouncement of the judgment on count II, counts I and III were dismissed. The appeal is from the judgment.