People v. Shannon
78 Cal. Rptr. 2d 177 (1998)
Rule of Law:
Theft by larceny is complete when a person exercises dominion and control over property by moving it, even slightly, with the specific intent to permanently deprive the owner of its value, regardless of whether the perpetrator intends to keep the physical item or remove it from the premises.
Facts:
- Jeffrey Antwan Shannon entered a J. C. Penney department store carrying a bag.
- Loss prevention agent Roger Jara observed Shannon in the dress department.
- Jara saw Shannon take two skirts and a sweater from their hangers, allowing them to fall to the floor.
- Shannon then bent down, placed the items in his bag, which appeared noticeably fuller, and left the empty hangers behind.
- Shannon took the bag containing the concealed merchandise to a cashier's counter.
- He placed the items on the counter and asked the cashier for a cash refund, falsely claiming ownership.
- On instruction from loss prevention, the cashier gave Shannon a cash refund of $102.83.
- After Shannon left the store with the money, security agents arrested him.
Procedural Posture:
- Jeffrey Antwan Shannon was charged in trial court with petty theft with a prior conviction.
- A jury convicted Shannon of the charge.
- The trial court found that Shannon had three prior felony convictions under the 'Three Strikes' law and sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison.
- Shannon (appellant) appealed the judgment to the California Court of Appeal, arguing his conviction should be reduced to attempted petty theft.
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Issue:
Does a person commit completed theft by larceny when they take merchandise from a store rack, place it in a bag, and move it to a different part of the store with the intent to fraudulently exchange it for cash, even if they do not intend to leave the store with the merchandise itself?
Opinions:
Majority - Ortega, J.
Yes, a person commits a completed theft by larceny under these circumstances. The crime of larceny requires two key elements: asportation (carrying away) and the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property. The asportation element is satisfied by any movement, however slight, that severs the property from the owner's possession; it does not require removing the property from the store's premises. Shannon completed the asportation when he moved the clothes from the rack and concealed them in his bag. The intent element is satisfied because Shannon intended to permanently deprive J. C. Penney of the property's value by appropriating it for his own use—namely, by fraudulently 'selling' it back to the store. The fact that he did not intend to keep the physical clothes is irrelevant, as his intent was not to return them unconditionally but to use them to obtain cash.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies the application of traditional larceny elements to modern retail fraud schemes. It establishes that a theft is completed inside the store the moment the perpetrator moves an item with fraudulent intent, making it unnecessary for the prosecution to prove the item was removed from the premises. The case solidifies the principle that the 'intent to permanently deprive' can be satisfied by an intent to appropriate the property's economic value, even if the scheme involves returning the physical object to the owner. This broad interpretation of intent makes it easier to prosecute refund fraud as a completed theft rather than a mere attempt.
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