Grand Theft Auto 3 Under Surveillance

[Oswald Lemus]

Grandtheft auto is a persistent crime in America, a felony in most states with jail sentences up to 10 years and a fine of $10,000, depending upon the value of the car and any valuables left inside. Car theft is a lucrative pursuit. Thieves steal an average of 2,400 vehicles a day for a grand total of around 873,000 stolen cars in 2020, a 9 percent increase over the previous year. It is a telling sign of our times that one of the most popular action/adventure games is Grand Theft Auto, with over 280 million units sold. Now imagine a gang of thieves organized to steal not our cars and trucks and RVs but an invaluable national resource: our research and development in modern technology.

China is obliged to depend upon spies, bribes, and theft because its system of centralized decision-making stifles technological innovation. The Chinese Communist Party does not dare permit a real entrepreneurial spirit to flourish in China for fear that economic freedom would lead to political freedom threatening its hold on the levers of power. The Chinese Communist Party looks to intellectual property theft to fill the technological gaps, but this grows more difficult with the aggressive policing of the FBI and other U.S. agencies.

Stung by criticism, Communist China claims it has created courts that have prosecuted many cases of intellectual property theft. But Chinese court records are hard to come by, and several corporations have complained their cases have been dismissed by courts friendly to Chinese businesses. Such an outcome is not surprising in a land in which the law is what the Communist Party says it is.

Certain to capture worldwide attention would be U.S. pressure on the International Olympic Committee to postpone the 2022 Beijing Olympics and select a new host country. Postponement of the Olympics, let alone a transfer of venue, would constitute an enormous loss of face by China and the Communist Party.

Surveillance video captured the moment that the killer ran into the M&M Market on Picciola Road and shot 51-year-old Raied Shihadeh, who was leaning back in a chair and talking to his wife on Facetime.

The video showed Shihadeh clutching his torso, falling forward and crawling toward the front of the store as the shooter either pointed his handgun at his victim or shot, and finally shooting again at the man directly behind the counter.

It was not the first time Lopez has been caught by a store surveillance camera. In 2018, he was arrested and charged in a string of crimes, including grand theft auto. In that case, he was accused of stealing a 2007 Cadillac belonging to a man who left the car running as he went into a convenience store in Eustis, according to court records.

There were cellphones in the car. The owner of the vehicle ran out and tried to stop him, but was unsuccessful. The store manager, car owner and another witness picked Lopez out of a photo lineup, and police also picked him out in store surveillance video, the records show.

Lopez was sentenced to four years and five months in prison in February of 2020 on charges of grand theft auto, fraud, burglary of an occupied dwelling and grand theft. He was released on Oct. 15, 2022 on supervised probation, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.

Shihadeh, of Port St. Lucie, was married almost 24 years and had five children ranging in age from 20 to 13. His oldest daughter, a student at FAMU, was studying in Italy on a full scholarship. She was called to come back home.

Governor Hochul's focus on organized retail theft comes as crime data shows a significant spike in these crimes over the past six years. Larceny offenses in New York City have spiked by 51 percent between 2017 and 2023. Robberies, grand larceny and petit larceny in New York City are up by 86 percent during that same time period.

Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos said, "I commend Governor Hochul for being a steadfast champion on the pervasive issue of retail theft and ensuring we protect our retail workers and the communities they serve through strong policy in the adopted budget. I took on the issue of retail theft after hearing from my local supermarkets and bodegas about their daily fight against this issue and their pleas for protection. Together, we created a proposal with practical steps to support businesses in this fight, and I feel confident these policies will have a major impact for employees and small businesses across New York City and the State."

CAPS Founder Nelson Eusabio said, "We commend Governor Kathy Hochul for not just taking on retail theft, but for delivering for our stores, workers and customers. This state budget is a real win, and it addresses the issue of retail theft head on. Retail workers, who were deemed essential during the pandemic needed help, and we are happy that Governor Hochul and the state legislature have delivered for them."

Paul Halvonik, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, Charles M. Sevilla, Chief Assistant State Public Defender, Jonathan B. Steiner and Russell I. Lynn, Deputy State Public Defenders, for Defendant and Appellant.

Evelle J. Younger, Attorney General, Jack R. Winkler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, S. Clark Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Frederick R. Millar, Jr., and Sharlene A. Honnaka, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

By information in case number A329292, Christopher Blouin and Lawrence Gray were charged, in count I, with grand theft of Joseph Gates' automobile in violation of Penal Code section 487, subdivision 3, and, in count II, with receiving stolen property, a 1948 Chevrolet automobile, in violation of Penal Code section 496. fn. 1 [80 Cal. App. 3d 272]

In a second information in case number A333439, Blouin was charged with robbery of Mikizo Suzuki in violation of Penal Code section 211. It was further alleged in this information that Blouin used a pistol in commission of the crime within the meaning of Penal Code sections 12022.5 and 1203.06, subdivision (a)(1).

Blouin pled not guilty and filed written motions to compel disclosure of the identity and address of the untested police informant and to suppress evidence of his statements to the police in accordance with Evidence Code section 402. Both motions were heard and denied. Following a court trial Blouin was found not guilty of grand theft but guilty of receiving stolen property in case number A329292 and thereafter withdrew his plea of not guilty, pled guilty to robbery and admitted the use allegations in case number 333439. The two cases were consolidated for all further proceedings, the use allegations found to be true and the robbery to be in the first degree. Defendant was sentenced to state prison with sentences to run concurrently with time in custody fixed at 60 days. He appeals from the judgment.

It is contended on appeal that (1) the denial of the suppression motion was error, (2) the denial of the disclosure motion was error, and (3) that sentencing irregularities be corrected by this court or the cause remanded for resentencing.

Since no claim is made of insufficiency of the evidence no plenary statement of the facts is necessary in this opinion. We shall refer only to those portions of the record deemed necessary to a resolution of these issues.

With respect to the suppression and disclosure motions, apparently prompted by the preliminary hearing testimony of investigating police officer Gilbert Hetrick, a pretrial hearing under Penal Code section 1538.5 and Evidence Code section 402 was held to determine the admissibility of statements made by defendant to Hetrick in the course [80 Cal. App. 3d 273] of the latter's investigation of the crimes. At the hearing Officer Hetrick, assigned to investigate auto thefts, testified that in the course of his duties he obtained information about the theft of a motor vehicle belonging to Joseph Gates from a fellow officer. Contact with Gates disclosed a number of identifying characteristics of this antique vehicle. Hetrick then had a conversation with a person described only as a "confidential informant" who told him:

"that on 52nd Street between Budlong and Normandie there was a '48 Chevrolet four door, it was black primer, had a suspense receipt, a red cigarette in the front window, that it was stolen and that a person by the name of Chris owned it.

"Q. And so when you asked him for the registration at least at that point in time you knew that there was a Chris or a Christopher Blouin who was in possession of the car described by the informant at the location described by the informant; is that correct?

"A. It would have depended--if he would have tried--if he would have just walked away from me without acknowledging my presence or anything like that I probably would have detained him. If he would have said, 'Just a minute, officer, I have put something in the oven and I would like to go in the house and get it, I'll come right back out and talk to you,' I would have let him.

"Q. Now I believe we finished up you had apparently asked him his name, asked him whether the car was his and asked him for some documents, as I understand you. As he produced those documents, which are the documents which were referred to as People's Exhibits 1 through 3 at the preliminary hearing, after he gave you those documents, [80 Cal. App. 3d 280] did you ask him any questions or did your partner ask him any questions?

"A. I asked him--I noted that all of the registration and the paper work was in the name of Guy Richmond and I asked him why the name Guy Richmond was on all the paper work and he said, 'Well that's who I bought it from.'

"I said, 'When did you buy it,' and I don't know if he said the exact date or we agreed that the date on the paper work showed the date that he bought it and we agreed that that was April 15th and that's what the paper work showed and that's what we agreed on as a day that he bought the car.

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