Pao Lee is driving a vehicle that's obviously stolen; its steering wheel is cracked open and a different type of key has been jammed into the ignition. It's an old, 90's style Honda -- the most commonly stolen vehicle in Sacramento (in part because it's just so darn easy to steal).
He's convicted of four wobblers (i.e., misdemeanor/felonies): unlawfully driving or
taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a); count 1), receiving a stolen vehicle
(§ 496d, subd. (a); count 2), and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger (§ 21310;
counts 3 & 4). It's one of the easiest captures (as well as convictions) in the history of mankind:
"On August 18, 2013, Michael A., the owner of a 1999 red Honda Civic, got up in
the morning and discovered his car was missing from the driveway. He called the police
immediately.
On August 24, 2013, around midnight, Fresno Police Officer Vincent Zavala was
driving behind a 1999 red Honda Civic driven by defendant. Zavala checked the license
plate number and learned the car was stolen. He requested backup, then conducted a
traffic stop. He told defendant to remove the keys and drop them outside the door. He
ordered defendant out of the car and arrested him. When Zavala searched defendant, he
found a sheathed, fixed-blade knife in his right rear pocket and another knife in his right
front pocket. When Zavala searched the car, he noticed the center console of the
dashboard had been cracked and pulled away, and the stereo had been forcibly removed.
The key chain held a Toyota car key and two nonvehicle keys, but no Honda key. Zavala
tried all the keys in the Honda ignition. Only the Toyota key worked, but it did not fit
easily. It required force and inserted only halfway.
Zavala read defendant his Miranda3 rights and defendant agreed to talk. He said
the car belonged to him; his cousin had given it to him for free. Zavala told him he
thought that was weird. Defendant said he had had the car for three weeks. Zavala told
him that was not possible because it had been reported stolen only about seven days
earlier. Defendant said he got the key from his cousin and was using it to drive the car.
When Zavala told him it was a Toyota key that only inserted halfway, defendant said he
did not know much about cars. He said he was homeless."
Uh, yeah. You're gonna get convicted on that one.
What's the sentence?
25 years to life.
