People v. Scott

FOURT, J. This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction (upon a plea of guilty) of issuing checks without sufficient funds and an appeal from a judgment of conviction of forgery.

On about October 27, 1964, defendant with counsel pleaded guilty to a complaint charging a violation of section 476a, Penal Code (superior court case numbered 295,971). Proceedings were suspended, defendant was placed on probation for five years, a part of the terms being that he make restitution, obey the laws and not possess or write any checks and not have a bank account upon which he could draw checks. For good reason probation was revoked on March 17, 1966. On August 25, 1966, defendant was sentenced to the state prison, the term to run concurrently with the sentence in superior court case numbered 303,276.

In an information filed in Los Angeles on April 20, 1965, (case numbered 303,276) defendant was charged in count I with forgery in that he did on January 28, 1965, forge a cheek for $332.67 with intent to defraud John Fairchild, Associated Manufacturing Company, Inc., Altadena Federal Savings & Loan, and Union Bank, Pasadena branch. In count II defendant was charged with forgery in that he did on February 1, 1965, forge a cheek in the sum of $982.52 with intent to defraud the institutions above named in count I. It was further charged that defendant previously had been convicted of a felony, namely, of writing cheeks without sufficient funds. Defendant denied the charged prior conviction and pleaded not guilty to counts I and II of the information. Defendant was found guilty as charged in counts I and II and the charge of the prior convictions was found to be true. Defendant was sentenced to the state prison on counts I and [719]II, the term to ran concurrently with the sentence imposed in case No. 295,971. Defendant has appealed from both judgments.

A résumé of some of the facts is as follows: Defendant’s wife had spent some time in a California women’s penal institution and there she met Patricia Springer whom she later introduced to her husband. In December 1964 Patricia Springer was released from prison on parole (while Mrs. Scott was still serving her sentence) and she immediately contacted appellant to obtain some personal belongings which he was keeping for her. Scott, who was then self-employed in the trucking business, thereafter began to see Patricia Springer regularly and soon became intimate with her. She moved into his apartment and he rented a car for her.