People v. Morales
Annotate this CaseA woman, inspecting property on which her family was in escrow, saw a van backed up to the garage door. Morales got out of the van and claimed to be interested in buying the property. When the woman took photos of the van and license plate, Morales became agitated and drove away. The woman called 911. Napa County Sheriff’s Deputy Quigley was dispatched to investigate and spotted the van in a nearby parking lot. Morales got out as Quigley approached. Quigley found drug paraphernalia on Morales, who said that "Shawn" gave him the van to use because Morales was homeless. Morales was charged with felony unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle (Vehicle Code 10851(a)). The information alleged prior felony convictions in Nevada for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. At trial, no evidence established when the van was stolen or by whom. The verdict form referenced only unlawful driving, not unlawful taking. The court sentenced Morales to 32 months in state prison. The court of appeal remanded on a claim that the trial court reviewed an ambiguous record of his Nevada convictions to find true the prior strike allegations, violating the Sixth Amendment. The court rejected claims that the section 10851 conviction merited only misdemeanor punishment and that the court violated his due process rights by failing to instruct the jury on a purported defense.
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