San Francisco Superior Court Judge John D. Echeverria ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold an individual to answer on a charge of receiving a stolen vehicle during a preliminary hearing, despite defense arguments that the prosecution failed to establish the accused’s full knowledge of the vehicle’s stolen status.
During a pretrial hearing, Judge John Echeverria adopted an interpretation of California’s receiving stolen property law, concluding the offense does not necessarily require property to change hands between two people. The ruling conflicted with arguments from Deputy Public Defender Latisha McCray, who contended such an interpretation could lead to overcharging the accused, currently facing charges of vehicle theft, evading police, running a red light, and receiving stolen property.
By Mansour Taleb-Ahmed and Alex Jimenez OAKLAND, CA— In Alameda County Superior Court last Thursday, a defense…