People v. Miller

Codefendants Gina Miller and Nicolas Harris appeal judgment after a jury convicted them of stealing over $150,000 by false pretenses from two elderly single men and then attempting to dissuade one of the victims from testifying against them. On appeal they challenge the admissibility and sufficiency of the evidence and the jury instructions. Miller also claims discriminatory prosecution. We affirm.

Facts

We view the record in the light most favorable to the People, as we are bound to do after a guilty verdict. (People v. Sweeney (1960) 55 Cal.2d 27, 33 [ 9 Cal.Rptr. 793 , 357 P.2d 1049 ].) This case grew out of the grand theft by false pretenses of large amounts of money and property from Nicholas Brayevich and Wilbur Johnston. Evidence of three uncharged similar incidents involving Ned Wyss, Robert Dodd, and Jack McCallister was admitted to show a common scheme or plan. (Evid. Code, § 1101, subd. (b).) The facts are much abridged; more detail will be forthcoming as needed for the discussion of a particular issue.

Nicholas Brayevich, Counts 1 -

In September 1994, 84-year-old bachelor Nicholas Brayevich shared a house with his sister Stella in the Willow Glen area of…