People v. Brayton

Filed 7/31/18 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B284408 (Super. Ct. No. 2016005604) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

KARA TAYLOR BRAYTON,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant enters a department store and removes the price tags from two items for sale worth slightly over $100. She then tells store personnel she previously purchased the items and is returning them for a refund. She uses a stolen credit card to falsely identify herself. Defendant eventually pleads guilty to identity theft, a felony. We conclude defendant is eligible for relief under Proposition 47. Kara Taylor Brayton appeals an order denying her “motion” for resentencing under Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. (Pen. Code, § 1170.18.)1 She previously pled guilty to identity theft (§ 530.5, subd. (a)), a

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

felony. In her motion for Proposition 47 relief, Brayton claims her “conduct” in committing that identity theft offense met “the elements of shoplifting” under Proposition 47 and her conviction should be reduced to a misdemeanor. We agree, reverse and remand. FACTS On February 5, 2016, Brayton entered a Kohl’s store in Simi Valley. She took a watch from the jewelry department and removed the security tag. She also “removed a bra from a hang[e]r and balled it up in her arm.” Brayton then went to the store’s customer service department to falsely claim that she had previously purchased these items and was seeking a store credit in the amount of $107.07. To obtain this credit, Brayton presented a California driver’s license which belonged to Ambar Lechuga. Someone had previously stolen Lechuga’s license. Brayton was detained and questioned by two of the store’s “loss prevention employees.” During questioning, Brayton was unable to spell Lechuga’s name or provide the year Lechuga was born. One of the store’s security employees called the police. Brayton “fled from the store.” When contacted by police, Brayton said she “did something wrong and did not have an explanation as to why she tried to shoplift.” In the felony information, the People alleged Brayton committed “the crime of IDENTITY THEFT-OBTAIN CREDIT WITH OTHER’S IDENTIFICATION, in violation of Penal Code 530.5(a), a Felony” (count 1), and petty theft by taking Kohl’s property, a misdemeanor (§ 484, subd. (a)) (count 2). Brayton pled guilty to both counts and admitted she “did what is alleged in [the information].”