Lassell

*723 Opinion

Wayne Coyne Lassell appeals from a judgment of imprisonment which was rendered after a jury found him guilty of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 1).

John A. Howe, proprietor of a jewelry and antique shop, was contacted by a visitor (identified at trial as appellant) who said he was Alan Bienenfeld, a jeweler from Carmel. Appellant told Howe that he had been in the shop before; at that point Howe recognized him as being the person from whom he had purchased a small diamond ring earlier the same year. Howe’s son Jack also recognized appellant from the previous encounter.

Howe agreed to purchase a ring from appellant for $1,500, contingent upon an appraisal to establish that the ring contained a diamond worth that amount. Jack Howe accompanied appellant to another jewelry store and left the ring for appraisal. Appellant handed Jack the receipt for the ring and the two went to a bank where Jack cashed a check for $1,500, and gave the money to appellant who then returned $50 for the appraisal according to a prior agreement. Appellant left with the remaining $1,450.

The following day, John Howe, Sr., called the number on Alan Bienenfeld’s business card which had…

I dissent.

The schism that exists within this panel with respect to the use of similar prior convictions for impeachnient needs no reenactment. Students of such cleavage should be more than satisfied with People v. Harris (1980) 105 Cal.App.3d 204 [ 164 Cal.Rptr. 296 ].

*734 What is novel about the majority opinion here is its dismissal of People v. Burdine (1979) 99 Cal.App.3d 442, 449 [ 160 Cal.Rptr. 375 ], as “not being supported by any reasoning or authority.” Suffice it to note that the reasoning and authority in Burdine belong to the Supreme Court of California. All the Burdine decision purported to do was to follow the command of the California Supreme Court that similar and identical priors be treated identically. (People v. Fries (1979) 24 Cal.3d 222, 230 [ 155 Cal.Rptr. 194 , 594 P.2d 19 ]; People v. Spearman (1979) 25 Cal.3d 107, 114 [ 157 Cal.Rptr. 883 , 599 P.2d 74 ], For further guidance see Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court (1962) 57 Cal.2d 450, 455 [ 20 Cal.Rptr. 321 , 369 P.2d 937 ].)

Here the charged crime of grand theft and the priors of burglary and receiving stolen property are “similar” in the important sense that they sound like what they are to…

Wayne Coyne Lassell appeals from a judgment of imprisonment which was rendered after a jury found him guilty of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 1).

John A. Howe, proprietor of a jewelry and antique shop, was contacted by a visitor (identified at trial as appellant) who said he was Alan Bienenfeld, a jeweler from Carmel. Appellant told Howe that he had been in the shop before; at that point Howe recognized him as being the person from whom he had purchased a small diamond ring earlier the same year. Howe's son Jack also recognized appellant from the previous encounter.

Howe agreed to purchase a ring from appellant for $1,500, contingent upon an appraisal to establish that the ring contained a diamond worth that amount. Jack Howe accompanied appellant to another jewelry store and left the ring for appraisal. Appellant handed Jack the receipt for the ring and the two went to a bank where Jack cashed a check for $1,500, and gave the money to appellant who then returned $50 for the appraisal according to a prior agreement. Appellant left with the remaining $1,450.

The following day, John Howe, Sr., called the number on Alan Bienenfeld's business card…