People v. Navarro,

99 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1 (1979)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Navarro (D) was charged with grand theft but was only convicted of petty theft. The only facts on the records were that D was charged with stealing four wooden beams from a construction site and that the jury could have found that D either believed that the beams had been abandoned as worthless or that they had substantial value and had not been abandoned. D proposed two jury instructions both of which were rejected. The two instructions were: (A) 'If one takes personal property with the good faith belief that the property has been abandoned or discarded by the true owner, he is not guilty of theft. This is the case even if such good faith belief is unreasonable. The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not so believe for you to convict a defendant of theft.' (B) 'If one takes personal property with the good faith belief that he has permission to take the property, he is not guilty of theft. This is the case even if such good faith belief is unreasonable. The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not so believe for you to convict a defendant of theft.' The court instructed that (A) 'If one takes personal property in the reasonable and good faith belief that the property has been abandoned or discarded by the true owner, he is not guilty of theft.' (B) 'If one takes personal property in the reasonable and good faith belief that he has the consent or permission of the owner to take the property, he is not guilty of theft. 'If you have a reasonable doubt that the defendant had the required criminal intent as specified in these instructions, the defendant is entitled to an acquittal.' D appealed his conviction. D's contention on appeal is that the jury was improperly instructed.