Farsight

Following the preliminary hearing on charges of two counts of embezzlement by an agent or employee with an enhancement on count 1 for property exceeding $50,000, a jury trial began but thereafter the defense submitted the matter to a court trial on the preliminary transcript. The court found defendant Jovan Sfarsai Farsight (appellant) guilty as charged and found the special allegation to be true. It then suspended imposition of sentence and placed appellant on supervised probation for five years, ordering him to serve nine months in county jail, make restitution in the amount of $116,209 and pay a $200 restitution fine.

On appeal appellant maintains that the court abused its discretion in excluding documentary evidence critical to his “claim of title” defense. He further argues that the $200 fine was illegal. We strike the fine but affirm the conviction.

I. Factual Background

In May 1994 appellant was a fleet manager in charge of foreign car sales for Lexus of Serramonte in Colma. He had earned $113,365.42 in 1992. In 1993 his earnings dropped to $69,710. Effective January 1, 1994, the dealership discontinued appellant’s monthly salary because of his low sales the…