Rodriguez

Eduardo Tolentino Rodriguez appeals from the judgment entered following his convictions by jury of four counts of presenting fraudulent claims (Ins. Code, § 556, subd. (a)(1); counts 1, 3, 5, and 7) and one count for grand theft of personal property (Pen. Code, former § 487, subd. 1; count 2). He was sentenced to prison for three years and eight months.

The primary issue in this case is whether a jury can compare an exemplar of a defendant’s handwriting with handwriting on disputed documents to determine if the defendant signed the disputed documents.

We hold that the jury, under Evidence Code section 1417, was entitled to compare the signatures and, based on that comparison, a jury reasonably could have concluded, beyond a reasonable doubt, and without the benefit of testimony from a handwriting expert, that the questioned signatures were made by appellant.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

1. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Claim (Count 5).

Viewed in accordance with the usual rules on appeal (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206 [ 26 Cal.Rptr.2d 23 , 864 P.2d 103 ]), the evidence, the sufficiency of which is undisputed except as to the issue of identity, established that on…