California v. Gonzales
Annotate this CaseIn December 2013, Giovanni Gonzales took two bank checks from his grandmother. He went into a Bank of America twice during regular business hours and cashed the checks. The checks were for $125 each, written payable to Gonzales, and signed with his grandmother's name. Gonzales's grandmother stated she did not sign the checks and Gonzales did not have permission to use her checks. Gonzales pleaded guilty to second degree commercial burglary. The trial court denied Gonzales's petition for recall of his felony sentence. He appealed, contending the trial court erred in denying his petition because: (1) the conduct underlying his offense meets the statutory definition of misdemeanor shoplifting under section 459.5, a crime added in 2014 by Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (the Act); and (2) section 1170.18 impliedly applies to convictions pursuant to section 459. The Court of Appeal rejected Gonzales's arguments and affirmed the order.
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