P. v. Shekell
A jury found Jeff Shekell, who operated an automobile repair business in El Cajon, guilty of (1) petty theft of personal property (Pen. Code, § 484) (undesignated statutory references will be to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified) as a lesser included offense of grand theft of personal property (count 2; victim: Terry Guishard); (2) grand theft of personal property (count 4: § 487, subd. (a) (hereafter § 487(a)); victim: Alan Sup); and (3) attempted grand theft of personal property (count 5: §§ 487(a), 664; victim: Tony Gallo). At the sentencing hearing, the court placed Shekell on five years formal probation.
Shekell raises three contentions on appeal. First, he contends the evidence is insufficient to support his theft convictions because the prosecution alleged he committed theft by false pretenses, but there is no evidence he "misrepresented a single thing regarding his repair of the three vehicles involved," and all of the work he did "was done with the full approval of the customers." Second, he claims his convictions under the "broader" theft statutes are barred because the prosecution presented no evidence he defrauded his customers, and, thus, his conduct is covered only by more specific statutes codified in the Business and Professions Code, violations of which are punishable only as misdemeanors. Third, Shekell contends the court violated his federal constitutional right to due process by erroneously admitting inadmissible "bad character" evidence, and his trial counsel's failure to object to that evidence amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment.
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