The California Supreme Court reversed a decision of the court of appeal. The court held that where a defendant stood convicted of both theft and receipt of the same stolen property, his conviction for the latter offense had to be reversed, regardless of which was the “greater” or “lesser” offense.
After being seen in possession of stolen property, Rafael Ceja was charged with both misdemeanor petty theft and felony receipt of stolen property. The property at issue in both counts was the same. Ceja was tried before a jury and convicted of both charges. Ceja appealed, arguing he could not properly be convicted of both stealing and receiving the same property.
