Garza

This case involves the interplay between two criminal law statutes: one a provision of the Penal Code, the other a provision of the Vehicle Code.

Subdivision (a) of Penal Code section 496 (hereafter section 496(a)) defines the crime of receiving stolen property. It also provides that a person who has been convicted of the theft of property may not also be convicted of receiving the same property. This provision codifies a common law rule prohibiting separate convictions of the same person for stealing and receiving the same property. (People v. Allen (1999) 21 Cal.4th 846, 857 [ 89 Cal.Rptr.2d 279 , 984 P.2d 486 ] (Allen).)

Subdivision (a) of Vehicle Code section 10851 (hereafter section 10851(a)), defines the crime of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle. Unlawfully taking a vehicle with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession is a form of theft, and the taking may be accomplished by driving the vehicle away. For this reason, a defendant convicted under section 10851(a) of unlawfully taking a vehicle with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession has suffered a theft conviction and may not also be convicted under section 496(a) of…