People v. Baranovych CA3

BACKGROUND

Defendant was charged with grand theft (Pen. Code, §§ 484, subd. (a), 487, subd. (a)–count 1) and receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 196, subd. (a)–count 2) after he was found in possession of items taken from Pedro S.’s vehicle. Pedro, a law

1 enforcement officer, lived with his wife Michaela A. in an apartment complex. One morning, Pedro and Michaela discovered that someone had rummaged through Pedro’s Ford Explorer, which was locked the night prior. Several items were missing from the car including two dash cameras, Pedro’s work laptop, a baby stroller, a backpack, and a small pendant. Pedro later discovered an iPhone also was missing. Pedro estimated that the items taken were worth over $950 in total; the laptop alone would cost approximately $1,000 to replace. Pedro reviewed footage from his home security cameras. Only one person was captured on video. At about 4:00 that morning, someone walked near Pedro’s vehicle holding Pedro’s work laptop, which Pedro recognized by an inventory sticker. The videos did not provide a clear image of the person’s face, but he was wearing white slippers and walked with a distinct limp that made a very distinct shuffling…