People v. Whitmer

Opinion

CHIN, J.

Defendant Jeffrey Allen Whitmer, the manager of a motorcycle dealership, arranged for the fraudulent sales of vehicles to fictitious buyers. A *735jury convicted him of 20 counts of grand theft for 20 separate fraudulent sales. We must decide whether defendant was properly convicted of a separate theft for each vehicle fraudulently sold, or whether he could be convicted of only one count of grand theft because all of the sales were part of a single scheme. Resolution of the issue requires us to revisit language in People v. Bailey (1961) 55 Cal.2d 514 [11 Cal.Rptr. 543, 360 P.2d…