People v. Story

Opinion

ASHBY, J. Appellant Eddie Gerry Story, aka Gradus E. Story, was tried by jury and found guilty of perjury. (Pen. Code, § 118.) He was granted probation for two years on condition that he pay a $2,000 fine and obey all the laws.

Appellant, born in Holland, was originally named Gradus Evaradus Story. After he came to the United States at age four, his parents called him Eddie Story. When appellant became a naturalized citizen in October 1972 he legally changed his name to Eddie Gerry Story. That same year appellant obtained a Nevada driver’s license under the name Eddie Gerry Story. He maintained this license through 1979 and up to the time of trial.

A California driver’s license was issued to appellant in 1967 in the name Gradus Evaradus Story. In August 1979 appellant applied to renew his California driver’s license under the same name: Gradus Evaradus Story. On the application were four questions, one of which was: “Have you held a driver’s license in another state or country in the past three years?” Appellant answered “no.” He proceeded to sign the application. By signing he certified under penalty of perjury that all of his statements on the application were true.

Since 1970 appellant has been in the business of repossessing cars and heavy equipment for banks, finance companies and credit unions. His busi[852]ness has been incorporated in California since 1978; it is incorporated in no other state.

During April of 1982 appellant received a suspension notice from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The notice was sent because appellant was cited for seven moving violations. The notices are sent to repeated violators, even those holding out-of-state licenses. Each time he was stopped for a violation appellant gave the officer his Nevada license rather than his California license. Out-of-state traffic violators are tracked by DMV through the issuance of a fictitious number and the creation of a file related to that number. Eddie Story, holder of a Nevada driver’s license, had a DMV file related to his accumulated traffic violations. Because appellant’s California license was held under a different name the DMV did not relate the two licenses.

Appellant’s explanation: Whenever he was stopped for a traffic violation in California and gave the officer his Nevada license, it was “the only license I had.” He elaborated: “It’s the only one I had on me. That’s it.”