Lawson

*111 Opinion

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant, Brent Kerrigan Lawson, guilty of petty theft for stealing a $20 hoodie from a Walmart store. (Pen. Code, § 484, subd. (a).) 1 The trial court found that defendant had four prior convictions for theft or burglary and served time for the offenses, making his current crime petty theft with prior convictions. (§ 666.)

On this appeal, defendant claims his conviction for petty theft must be reversed because the trial court erroneously failed to instruct the jury, sua sponte, on the defense of mistake of fact. He argues the jury could have reasonably inferred he simply forgot about the hoodie, which was draped over his shoulder as he passed through the checkout line, paid for other items, and walked out of the store. And given that he forgot about the hoodie, he argues the jury could have reasonably inferred he did not intend to steal it when he walked out of the store with it.

We agree the evidence supported a reasonable inference that defendant simply forgot about the hoodie and therefore did not intend to steal it. Nonetheless, the evidence that defendant forgot about the hoodie was insufficient to support an instruction on…