People v. Banks CA1/3

Filed 7/8/21 P. v. Banks CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A158333 v. (San Mateo County JANIQUE KYA BANKS, Super. Ct. No. 18-NF-013275-A)

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Janique Banks appeals from her conviction for felony grand theft of personal property, based on the theory that she aided and abetted her significant other in committing the crime. (Pen.1 Code, § 487, subd. (a).) Banks claims her conviction was based solely on her out-of-court statement, in violation of the corpus delicti rule. Banks also claims there was insufficient evidence that she aided and abetted her significant other in committing the theft. We disagree and affirm. BACKGROUND In October 2018, a driver parked her Lexus in a parking garage and left her purse containing an $11,000.00 engagement ring, debit card, and identification on the passenger’s seat. She inadvertently left the car unlocked. Shortly after, video surveillance cameras recorded a black

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless 1

otherwise specified. 1

Mercedes, registered to Banks, entering the parking garage. It backed into a parking spot straddling two spaces close to the Lexus. A person later identified as Tuala Auimatagi, Banks’s significant other, exited from the passenger side of the Mercedes. She walked in front of the Mercedes towards the Lexus, returned to the Mercedes with something in her hands, and placed it in the car. The Mercedes then left. Later that evening, the Lexus driver returned to her car and discovered her purse was gone. Her bank confirmed that someone made two unauthorized transactions using her debit card at a gas station, one for $61.49—the price of 15 gallons of gas. During a routine patrol a few weeks later, police found Banks’s Mercedes parked on the street. While surveilling the car, a police officer saw Banks and questioned her about the theft. Banks initially denied any knowledge about her car’s or the perpetrator’s involvement in any theft. After police falsely stated the video surveillance footage clearly documented Banks driving the Mercedes during the theft, Banks admitted she was driving the car. But she stated she did not know what the perpetrator was doing because she was looking at her phone the entire time. Police then arrested Banks. A search of her car yielded a full 15-gallon gas can and indicia that she was in a relationship with Auimatagi. While in jail, Banks made several phone calls that police recorded. In one call to Auimatagi, she referenced Cardi B. featuring Kehlani, both rap artists. Their one song together was titled “Ring.” Banks acknowledged she referenced this song to remind Auimatagi about the stolen ring without directly stating it. Based on these facts, an information was filed charging Banks with grand theft of personal property (§ 487, subd. (a)) and identity theft (§ 530.5,