Employee Was Properly Convicted Of Grand Theft
People v. Tabb, 88 Cal. Rptr. 3d 789 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009)
Edward Nathaniel Tabb, Sr. was convicted by a jury for grand theft of his employer’s property. Tabb worked as a “runner or helper for pipe fitters” at BAE Systems. Over a period of approximately two months, Tabb brought new or used ship parts to A to Z Auto Dismantling, a recycling company, and sold them as scrap metal. During this period, Tabb’s daily recycling income increased from approximately $10 to $100 per day. A to Z’s office manager kept a log of all of the items Tabb brought in, and she calculated that A to Z had paid Tabb more than $31,000 for the materials he brought in for recycling. The jury convicted Tabb, and the Court of Appeal affirmed, concluding that the evidence at trial “amply warrants an inference that the items Tabb brought to A to Z were materials he stole from BAE.” Cf. People v. Scott, 2009 WL 397966 (Cal. S. Ct. 2009) (all employees on the premises have constructive possession of the employer’s property and thus may be separate victims of a robbery of the employer’s business); United States v. SDI Future Health, Inc., 553 F.3d 1246 (9th Cir. 2009) (an employee who challenges the government’s search of workplace areas must generally show some personal connection to the places searched and the materials seized).
