People v. Avalos CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. The Charges and Trial In October 2022, the prosecution filed an amended information charging Avalos with two counts: (1) unlawfully taking a vehicle by a person with a prior felony 1 conviction (Pen. Code § 666.5, subd. (a) ; Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)); and (2) receiving a stolen vehicle by a person with a prior felony conviction (§§ 496d, subd. (a), 666.5, subd. (a)). The information also alleged Avalos had a prior strike (§§ 667, subds. (d) & (e)(1), 1170.12, subds. (b) & (c)(1)). The evidence presented at Avalos’ trial is largely undisputed. The prosecution called two witnesses: the victim and the officer who arrested Avalos. Avalos called no witnesses. The evidence shows that in December 2019, the victim discovered her 2008 black Toyota Corolla was missing from her apartment building’s parking lot. She reported the car stolen to the police.

1 All further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 A few days after the victim reported the car stolen, an Irvine police officer noticed a black Toyota Corolla while patrolling a public storage facility. The officer ran the car’s license plate and learned it was for a 2012 Toyota.…