People v. Wallace

KAUFMAN, P. J. On February 27, 1958, the appellant, Clyde R. Wallace, was indicted on six counts of unlawful taking of property in violation of sections 484 and 487 of the Penal Code (theft). A prior conviction for false pretenses was also charged. The appellant denied the prior conviction and entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. The appellant was found insane and committed to the state hospital in April, 1958. In January, 1959, the appellant was reexamined and found sane at the time of the commission of the offenses charged by the indictment. Thereafter, on April 7,1959, the appellant was tried by a jury which found him guilty on three counts and found the allegation of the prior conviction to be true. Thereafter, the appellant waived a jury on his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The court concluded that the appellant was sane at the time of the commission of the crimes for which he had been convicted and sentenced him to the state prison. On this appeal from the judgment of conviction and the order denying the motion for a new trial, the only argument is that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the judgment of conviction. There is no merit in this argument.

As to the first count, the record reveals the following: In November, 1957, Frank C. Garland placed an advertisement in the San Francisco Examiner, offering his 1955 Chevrolet for sale. On November 20, 1957, Mr. Garland received a telephone call from the appellant. On November 24, 1957, Mr. Garland went to the appellant’s place of business, Holiday Motors at 621 Van Ness Avenue. In reliance on the appellant’s representations that he had permits to sell cars in Mexico, Mr. Garland transferred the vehicle to the appellant in return for the appellant’s 30-day promissory note for $900. The next day, the car was sold in San Francisco by an employee of the appellant. Mr. Garland never again heard from the appellant. The appellant testified that he could not remember Mr. Gar[626]land, but did, however, remember the 1955 Chevrolet and that plans had been made to sell the car in Mexico.

As to Count II, the record reveals that on November 24, 1957, Mrs. Theurer, a widow of 67, had a conversation with the defendant at her home about the 1954 Pontiac registered in the name of her deceased husband, Theodore H. Theurer. The appellant agreed to buy the car. Mrs. Theurer gave the appellant the pink certificate of title in return for his 90-day note for $700. Mrs. Theurer had never seen the appellant before, but trusted him because she thought he was honest. Mrs. Theurer’s daughter, Mrs. Overacker and two other witnesses were present during the transaction. Because Mrs. Theurer could not write, Mrs. Overacker wrote the name of her deceased father on a small slip of paper for the appellant. The car was sold on December 5,1957, in Tucson, Arizona, by “Theodore H. Theurer.” Mrs. Theurer never received her $700. When she telephoned the appellant some time in December, he informed her that he had sold the car and lost the money on investments.