The charge of Petty Theft under Penal Code Sections 484(a)-488 is a very commonly alleged crime and generally not considered serious as first time offenders generally face no jail time and small fines. However, the effect of such a conviction on professionally licensed persons like Nurses, Doctors, Lawyers and Teachers can be career ending.

The reason for this is that Petty Theft (and any theft offense) is considered a crime of moral turpitude and in the jobs indicated above convictions for crimes of moral turpitude call into question the character of the person. As such the licensing board of each vocation can convene a hearing to decide whether the person is of sufficient character to continue to perform that job in light of their conviction. For example, in the event of a Nurse getting a conviction for Petty Theft the Nursing Board can convene a hearing and could put the person on “license probation.” This status could make the person unemployable. Other lesser punishments may occur as well.

The way to prevent this situation is to avoid a conviction altogether. Attorney Will Bruzzo has successfully represented many professionals to include Nurses and Teachers accused of Petty Theft and other charges. Mr. Bruzzo has managed to negotiate arrangements which sometimes involve community service and charitable giving as a way to avoid a conviction or guilty plea.

Notably, some places like Orange County have programs which allow first time petty theft offenders to avoid a conviction by entering a diversion program. A diversion program usually requires a guilty plea with deferment (postponement) of sentencing and completion of a program; once the individual completes the program the guilty plea is withdrawn and the case dismissed. In this way there is no conviction since the person was never sentenced and California requires sentencing for a conviction.

However, what many people (and some attorneys) do not understand is that because the diversion programs requires a guilty plea the diversion program is not helpful for Nurses and other licensed individuals. This is because the Nursing Board, for example, treats a guilty plea as it if were a conviction.

Mr. Bruzzo has even counseled other criminal defense lawyers as to the dangers of diversion programs for certain individuals; it is very important that you hire a lawyer who knows what is at stake in your particular situation. Mr. Bruzzo also works with a licensing lawyer, Fred Ray Esq. to make sure that the client is getting the best representation possible and one that will preserve his/her ability to work in their chosen field.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Bruzzo or look at the testimonials on his website under Petty Theft for more information.

A recent case in Arizona had a father leave his infant child in the vehicle while he went to work for an hour and smoked marijuana with a friend. The outside temperature was at 100 degrees meaning inside the car it was even hotter. The child was non-responsive when the father found him and efforts to revive the baby failed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. This man will probably be charged with manslaughter.

Sometimes parents in a hurry will leave their children in a car while they run an errand. This is never a good idea no matter how inconvenient it is for the child to go with the parent. I also hear parents say they left the child in the car because he was napping and they locked the doors. The problem with this is that the child could be subject to harm from heat in the car or other injury; also, what if something happens to the parent and no one knows that a child is alone in the car? Regardless of the reason, in Orange County, unattended children left in vehicles even for short periods of time can result in an arrest for Penal Code Section 273(a) b. Obviously this is a very ugly charge since it falls under the child abuse statute.

In some cases I have been able to get the case dismissed if there are factors in mitigation like the parent was relatively close by and the time the child was left alone was relatively short. Also, the fact that the child was napping may be something considered in mitigation although it is not a defense. A poorly thought out decision is better then no thought being given to leaving the child unattended. Often passersby will see the child unattended and contact authorities. Taking parenting classes also often helps get a favorable result.

The bottom line is that regardless of the season infants should never be left unattended in a car and older children should only be left unattended if they will not be harmed or harm themselves.

In California, an individual can be charged with manslaughter if their conduct, while not intentional, was so reckless as to amount to criminal negligence. Criminal negligence is acting without a reasonable regard for human life or indifference to the consequences of that act. In this matter Mr. Ocampo is alleged to have run a stop sign and run into the victims’ vehicle.

Vehicular manslaughter charges (Penal Code Section 192(b)) can be alleged in two different ways: The first way is that a person may be not have broken any law or traffic infraction but may have been doing something legal (driving down the street) but still acted with criminal negligence (not paying attention to what is in front of him). In so doing he might run over a child who was in the street in plain view. This could lead to a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

The more commonly prosecuted case is when a person breaks a vehicle code section like the drunk driving law, speeding law or as is the situation here, run a stop sign. Any violation of the law which led to the death of someone can be the basis for a vehicular manslaughter charge if the death of the victim was a necessary and probable consequence of breaking that law or infraction.

In this case, the Prosecution may be hard pressed to show that running a stop sign is something that the Defendant should have known directly, naturally and probably would result in death. For example, what if the Defendant is very familiar with the area and the stop sign is in a remote place with little traffic? In that situation he could argue the deaths of these individuals was not a probable consequence. On the other hand, someone who drives on the freeway drunk would probably be seen as acting sufficient recklessly to be found criminally negligent. Vehicular manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 6 years in prison.

Hit and Run (Vehicle Code Sections 20001-20003) involves any situation where the Defendant has an accident and fails to remain at the scene and exchange information with the other party OR fails to call the authorities to report the matter. Generally speaking an accident must be reported within two hours. Most Hit and Run cases are misdemeanors as they involve property damage only. However, an individual who flees the scene after killing people in a vehicular manslaughter situation faces an additional 5 years in prison if he does not stay at the scene to talk with authorities and render aid to the victims if possible. The idea being that the victims of the crime may benefit from the Defendant calling authorities and/or the ambulance and otherwise rendering aid.

Criminal Law Updates the Law Offices of Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney William W. Bruzzo (714) 547-4636.

Related Articles

• Fatal Santa Ana hit-and-run suspect charged, pleads not guilty (abclocal.go.com)
• Suspect Accused In Double Fatal Hit-And-Run In Santa Ana Surrenders (losangeles.cbslocal.com)