Brady
People v. Brady
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Kerrigan, J.
Defendant appeals a jury conviction of grand theft (Pen. Code, §§ 484-487) wherein he defrauded the owner of an auto agency of $1,600 by selling him a. stolen ear.
The defendant, John Thomas Brady, rebuilt salvaged automobiles for a living. He frequently used the pseudonym ‘ ‘ Bill Iverson.” On August 29, 1967, someone known as “Bill Iverson” purchased a chassis from a Compton salvage firm which had been removed from a damaged Volkswagen.
On September 26, 1967, a Model 1966 white square-back Volkswagen [station Wagon] was stolen in Long Beach. On September 30, 1967, the defendant offered to sell a Model 1966 white square-back Volkswagen to a Garden Grove auto sales agency. The salesman on duty knew the defendant as “Bill *989 Iverson.' ’ The salesman advised the defendant that he could not buy the car then as the owner was not on the lot at the time. The defendant said he would leave the car there.
Within two hours, the car was sold to Robert Seifert. The salesman drew up a conditional sales contract for the vehicle. The vehicle identification number [VIN] of the 1966 Volkswagen station wagon was identical with the VIN appearing on the salvaged Volkswagen chassis.