Is attempting petty theft with a prior crime a crime?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Wilson, B223739 (Cal. App. 2011):

attempted petty theft with a prior is a crime. "'"There is no criminal common law in California. All public offenses or crimes are statutory, and unless there is in force at the time of the commission or omission of a particular act a statute making it a crime or a public offense, no one can be adjudged to suffer punishment for its commission or omission."' [Citation.]" (People v. Vasilyan (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 443, 449.)

Penal Code section 666 (hereafter section 666) provides, in relevant part, that "every person who, having been convicted three or more times of petty theft, grand theft, auto theft . . . burglary, carjacking . . . and having served a term therefor in any penal institution or having been imprisoned therein as a condition of probation for that offense, is subsequently convicted of petty theft, then the person convicted of that subsequent offense is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison." ( 666, subd. (a), italics added.) In People v. Bean, supra, 213 Cal.App.3d at page 643, the court concluded that because section 666 requires a present conviction for petty theft, the statute cannot be violated by an attempt to complete a petty theft. Respondent concedes that attempted petty theft with a prior is not a crime.

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