In re K.B. CA3

BACKGROUND

The amended wardship petition filed against minor alleged felony unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a); count one), felony receipt of a stolen car (Pen. Code, § 496d, subd. (a); count two), misdemeanor driving a vehicle without a valid driver’s license (Veh. Code, § 12500, subd. (a); count three), and misdemeanor failure to stop at the scene of an accident (Veh. Code, § 20002, subd. (a); count four). At the contested jurisdictional hearing in August 2023, victim K.G. testified that she drove her mother’s car, a white 2018 Hyundai Sonata, at around 9:00 p.m. on March 30, 2023. When K.G. tried to leave for work the next morning, the car was not there. She reported the car as stolen to law enforcement. Neither she nor her mother knew minor; neither gave minor permission to drive the car. The arresting officer testified that he was on patrol at 10:30 p.m. on March 31, 2023, when he received a “pod hit” notice for a stolen white 2018 Hyundai Sonata. A camera that scans license plates had filmed the car at a nearby intersection. The officer approached the intersection, saw the car, and began to follow it. He noticed that minor was the driver.…