Masajo

Robert Arthur Masajo (appellant) was convicted by a jury of one count of petty theft with a prior—a violation of Penal Code section 666. Appellant was sentenced to the midterm of two years for the conviction; however, the sentence was suspended, and appellant was placed on formal probation.

Appellant advances two challenges to the proceedings below. He first argues that the trial court erred in failing properly to poll the jury, following a defense request, and that such error is reversible per se. He then argues that the trial court erred in restricting his cross-examination of Ronald Durham, one of the principal witnesses against him. We agree that the trial court failed to properly poll the jury but find the error harmless. We find no error in the trial court’s ruling pertaining to cross-examination of Durham. Accordingly, we affirm.

I. Trial

A. The Prosecution Case

The prosecution called three witnesses to establish that appellant stole several books from the Humboldt State University bookstore on January 27, 1994. The first was Durham, who was general manager of the store on January 27. At roughly 10 a.m. that day, Durham observed a man he later identified as…