People v. Smith

Defendant was charged in a two-count information with grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487; count 1) and burglary (Pen. Code, § 459; count 2). A jury having been waived, defendant was found guilty in a court trial of grand theft, and was found not guilty of burglary. The court suspended proceedings, placed defendant on informal probation for a period of three years, conditioned upon his serving one year in the county jail. Defendant appeals from the judgment.

Factual Background

Joseph Alter and his wife, Dana, operated a cleaning shop in the City of Los Angeles for a number of years. Defendant had been a customer for five or six months prior to January 18, 1979, and would occasionally bring in garments to clean. Mr. Alter had seen defendant between five and ten times prior to that date. They engaged in conversations during some of these visits, and Mr. Alter had a good opportunity to look at defendant.

On January 17, 1979, defendant came into the Alter shop several times asking to borrow money, and on one of these occasions Mr. Alter gave him $3 from his wife’s purse which was kept under the counter. Defendant was standing at the counter when Mr. Alter removed the $3 from the…