The evidence was insufficient to support a court’s finding that a juvenile had committed grand theft person. The minor and several of his friends were involved in an altercation with another group of minors. After one of Jesus’s friends asked the other minors for money, a fight broke out. One of the other boys discovered that his cell phone was missing after the fight, and a 602 petition was sustained charging Jesus with grand theft person and attempted second-degree robbery. The appellate court reversed, finding that the evidence failed to demonstrate that Jesus either took the cell phone from the boy’s pocket or started a fight in order to cause it to fall so that one of his friends could retrieve it. Thus, the “from the person” element of the offense was lacking. The court sustained the findings of attempted robbery, however, finding that while Jesus did not personally ask for money, his actions satisfied the force or fear requirement of the offense.
Case Summaries