People v. AlexanDer

WHITE, J. In an information filed by the District Attorney of Los Angeles County, defendant was charged in count one with the crime of grand theft of an automobile, while in count two he was accused of a violation of section 503 of the Vehicle Code, which makes it an offense to take an automobile without the consent of the owner thereof. Following entry of not guilty pleas to both offenses charged, [394]a jury was waived and trial had before the court, resulting in the conviction of defendant on count one and his acquittal of the offense charged in count two. While defendant in his statement of grounds of appeal and demand for phonographic transcript states that the appeal is taken from the judgment and the order denying his motion for a new trial, the record does not disclose that any motion for a new trial was made, and the appeal therefore must be considered as having been taken only from the judgment.

Stating the facts in the light most favorable to the prosecution, as we are required to do following conviction of the defendant, we find in the record evidence that about noon on Saturday, January 24, 1942, defendant drove into the used car lot of William Henry at Hermosa Beach in the county of Los Angeles. Defendant was driving a Studebaker automobile, and wanted to work out a deal whereby he would transfer the Studebaker to the dealer and purchase a 1941 Buick coupé. He stated that he desired to take delivery of the Buick that same Saturday afternoon, so that he could drive back to San Francisco to be at work the following Monday morning. During the negotiations defendant stated to Mr. Henry, the dealer, that he had purchased the. Studebaker as a new car in San Francisco, but did not have the white registration slip on it because that document was in transit to Sacramento in connection with his application for 1942 number plates. In response to a question asked of him by Mr. Henry as to whether he ever had a loan on the Studebaker, defendant stated that at one time he had a loan with the Universal Finance Company in Los Angeles; that at that time the car was registered to an address on 92nd Street, but that the loan had been paid off in full. In an attempt to verify the aforesaid statement, Mr. Henry called the Universal Finance Company on the telephone, but that Saturday afternoon its office was closed.

The dealer then contacted the Hermosa Beach Police Department and learned through them that the Universal Finance Company was the legal owner of the Studebaker automobile and that appellant had made the loan from an address in 92nd Street in Los Angeles. When he was asked to produce the “pink slip” on the Studebaker, defendant replied that it was in San Francisco, but that he could send it down on Monday. The dealer then agreed to take what is called a “buyer’s bill of sale” on the Studebaker and to