People v. Peppers

GRIFFIN, J. and appellant Peppers was charged jointly with one Nellie Taylor on five counts of forgery, to which each pleaded “not guilty.” Defendant [674]Peppers had a separate trial and was also charged with a prior conviction of a felony and that he served time therefor in a state prison.

C. F. McDaniel, the witness whose name was forged to five different checks drawn on his account in a bank in San Bernardino, testified that he knew Nellie Taylor; that he left San Bernardino in 1945, went to San Luis Obispo, and remained there until September, 1945; that on his return he received his bank statement and found the five forged checks; that he gave no one authority to sign his name thereto; that Nellie Taylor, on occasions, had deposited monies in his account at his request; that he had met defendant Peppers on one occasion when he asked him to testify for his brother over an accident case.

The checks were paid by the bank and charged against McDaniel’s account. They were passed on local stores. Witnesses testified that they were passed by defendant Peppers who was known to them, and he endorsed his name and address thereto. Defendant admitted the endorsements.

Nellie Taylor, who testified for the prosecution, stated that she signed McDaniel’s name to the five checks involved; that Peppers wrote out the body of them and that she signed the checks “C. F. McDaniel”; that she was intoxicated at the time the five checks were signed by her; that with those checks wine and beer were purchased by Peppers and “we were all drinking up there on one continuous party”; that she had no “authority” to sign his name to checks but that there was a mutual agreement between her and McDaniel, made in San Bernardino, one time when the two of them were drinking, that she could sign his name thereto; that she did not tell Peppers that she had no authority to sign McDaniel’s name; and that Peppers did not question her about them nor the signature.

Peppers testified that he did not know McDaniel; that he knew Nellie Taylor; that she had an injured hand and asked him to write out the checks for her; that she told him she had money in the bank and that she placed money in the bank in McDaniel’s name and that he had given her the privilege of writing checks on the account; that he did not know at any time that the checks were forgeries; and that he made purchases of food and liquor for her with the money. He admitted on cross-examination that he had been previously convicted of a felony and served a term in prison for the offense of receiving stolen property.