California v. Marquez
Annotate this CaseOver several months, Jackie Marquez stole about $100,000 from her brother-in-law Robert C., who was then about 80 years old. The prosecution elected to charge Marquez with eight felony counts of elder theft as a noncaretaker. A jury found Marquez guilty of all counts. The court imposed a five-year sentence. Marquez contended the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that the prosecution needed to prove she was “not a caretaker.” To this, the Court of Appeal disagreed: a defendant’s status as a noncaretaker was not an element of Penal Code section 368 (d); rather, the Court found it more properly characterized as a charging option for the prosecution. Here, the trial court instructed the jury that the prosecution needed to prove the required elements of the crime: (1) Marquez committed a theft; (2) the victim was an elder; (3) Marquez stole more than $950; and (4) Marquez knew, or reasonably should have known the victim was at least 65 years old.
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