People v. Casas

Opinion

RAMIREZ, P. J.

Defendant, Jorge Jose Casas, a salesman at a car dealership, used a trade-in vehicle to follow a customer home to collect the downpayment, a process referred to as “chasing.” However, he did not return to the dealership immediately with the downpayment or the trade-in vehicle, using the vehicle to drive nearly 400 miles in search of drugs to purchase using the cash portion of the downpayment. He was convicted of embezzlement (Pen. Code, 1 §§ 503, 508) following a jury trial and sentenced to state prison.

Defendant initially filed a brief in accordance with the procedures…