People v. Anjell

In People v. Anjell (1979) 100 Cal.App.3d 189, defendant was charged with robbery and the trial court denied his motion to exclude two admitted prior convictions for grand larceny and receiving stolen property. Defendant elected not to testify. On the factor of similarity the court said: "Grand larceny and receiving stolen property are somewhat similar in nature to the crime of robbery with which appellant was charged. Because all three offenses are larcenous, there was a degree of risk that the jury might be persuaded to find appellant guilty of the robberies on the basis of his past larcenous conduct. However, the crime of robbery is assaultive as well as larcenous, and preponderantly so in the perception of lay people sitting as jurors. The risk mentioned was accordingly diminished because neither of appellant's priors indicated assaultive conduct in the past. No abuse of discretion has been shown in the trial court's treatment of the third Beagle factor." After completing an analysis of the other Beagle factors, the court concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling the prior convictions admissible.