People v. Jaeger CA6

Filed 12/21/15 P. v. Jaeger CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H041784 (Monterey County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. SS131934A)

v.

GEORGE JAEGER,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2012, defendant George Jaeger took a check from Gordon Sonne’s mailbox. Sonne had originally written the check to be payable in the amount of $1,321.02, but defendant chemically washed the ink off the check and changed the check to be payable in the amount of $300. He then forged a signature and deposited the check in his bank account. In 2013, Sonne discovered the check had been fraudulently deposited and the funds were eventually traced to defendant. Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of forgery (Pen. Code, § 470, subd. (a))1 and was sentenced to two years in county jail. In 2014, defendant, who had already completed his sentence, filed a petition requesting that his conviction be designated as a misdemeanor under section 1170.18, subdivisions (f) and (g), enacted by Proposition 47, “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” (hereafter the Act). Proposition 47 amended section 473, which now provides that forgery is a misdemeanor if the value of the “check . . . does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).” (§ 473, subd. (b).) The trial court denied the petition. 1 Unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code.

Defendant appealed, arguing that the value of the check was $300 and therefore the court erred in denying his petition. We agree and reverse the trial court’s order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In December 2012, Sonne wrote a check payable in the amount of $1,321.02 and placed it in his mailbox. A month later, Sonne discovered that the check had been deposited for $300. Following an investigation, it was determined that defendant had chemically washed the check to remove the ink. After washing the check, defendant had altered the check to be payable in the amount of $300, forged Sonne’s signature, and deposited the check in his bank account. In October 2013, defendant pleaded guilty to one count of felony forgery in violation of section 470, subdivision (a). The trial court sentenced him to the middle term of two years in county jail. In November 2014, the voters enacted Proposition 47, which went into effect the day after it passed. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (a); People v. Rivera (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1085, 1089.) Thereafter, defendant, who had already completed his sentence, filed a petition requesting that his conviction be designated as a misdemeanor under section 1170.18, subdivisions (f) and (g). The People responded to the petition and asserted that defendant was ineligible for the requested relief because “[t]he value of the property/instrument exceeds $950.” The People did not indicate there were any other reasons to find defendant ineligible for relief under section 1170.18. Thereafter, the trial court denied the petition, and defendant appealed. DISCUSSION On appeal, defendant challenges the trial court’s determination that he was ineligible to have his felony designated as a misdemeanor under Proposition 47. He claims that the value of the check should not be determined by the original face value of