Court of Appeals decisons 9-30-10

Court of Appeals decisions 9-30-10

People v. Thronton                        Theft - Sufficiency of the Evidence and Value

The Court of Appeals held that that the Kelly Blue Book valuation for used cars is admissible as evidence at trial, and such evidence is sufficient to establish value beyond a reasonable doubt. Incidentally, whiny-ass dad called the police on his son to report that his son stole his car. A jury convicted the son of a class 3 felony. Nice work Pop.

People v. Garcia            Merger / Investigatory Stop / Length of Detention

The Court of Appeals found that the police did not violate Mr. Garcia’s rights when they held him until a K-9 dog arrived. The police justified the original stop on I-76 on an “unsafe lane change.” Upon searching Mr. Garcia’s truck, the police found over 400 lbs. of marijuana. The jury convicted Mr. Garcia of possession and possession with intent to distribute. The CofA found no problem with the ruse to hold Mr. Garcia and search his truck. The CofA did however merge the possession counts and the possession with intent to distribute counts. Further, the CofA reduced the amount of parole from 5 years to 3.