Carr

Defendant was acquitted by a jury of the charge of violating section 487, subdivision 3, of the Penal Code, grand theft auto, and convicted of violation of section 10851 of the Vehicle Code, driving or taking a vehicle, without consent of the owner, a felony. Probation was denied and defendant was sentenced to the California Institution for Women for the term prescribed by law. Defendant appeals from the judgment.

Defendant rented a Cadillac car from a car rental agency at International Airport for one day; the rental was extended for two additional days by the agency at defendant’s request. She failed to return the auto to the agency. One month later defendant was involved in a traffic collision with the rented car which had been reported stolen. The traffic officer, noting that the car was listed on the “hot sheet,” arrested defendant.

There is no issue of sufficiency of evidence to support the judgment. Defendant on several previous occasions had rented cars, kept them long after their return date, abandoned them, returned them to the renters without notice, and in one instance pleaded guilty to violation of section 499b of the Penal Code, the misdemeanor joy-ride statute. In…