## Facts

- Jordan Latour and his nephew robbed a Wells Fargo Bank.
- During the robbery, they used guns and forced bank tellers to hand over money.
- The prosecution charged Latour with robbery of the “Wells Fargo Bank.”
- Latour was convicted of robbery as charged.
- On appeal, the prosecution conceded the robbery conviction was legally erroneous because California’s robbery statute defines robbery as an offense against a person, and the charged victim was a bank (an entity), not an individual.
- The appellate proceedings therefore focused on whether a robbery conviction can stand when the charging theory and conviction identify only the bank, rather than a person in possession of the property, as the victim.

## Issues

1. Does a robbery conviction under Penal Code section 211 fail when the charge and conviction identify a bank, rather than a person, as the robbery victim?

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal reversed Latour’s robbery conviction.
- The court accepted the point that, under the statutory definition, robbery is a taking from the possession of “another” from that person or the person’s immediate presence, making the offense one committed against a person rather than against a business entity named as such.
- Because the robbery count as charged and tried treated the bank itself as the victim, the conviction could not stand.
- Latour was acquitted of the robbery charge.

## Legal Principles

- Under Penal Code section 211, robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from the person or immediate presence of that person, against the person’s will, accomplished by force or fear.
- Robbery is an offense against the person who possesses the property and is subjected to force or fear; the victim must be a person (such as an employee or other individual in possession), not merely the business entity where the property is kept.
- A conviction is reversible when the charge and resulting conviction rest on a legally incorrect identification of the robbery victim that omits the required personal victim element.
- An appellate court may reverse a conviction and order an acquittal when the conviction cannot be sustained as a matter of law on the charge actually brought and decided.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeal reversed Latour’s robbery conviction because the prosecution charged and obtained a conviction for robbing a bank as an entity, even though Penal Code section 211 treats robbery as a taking from a person’s possession by force or fear; with the victim element framed incorrectly, the conviction could not stand and Latour was acquitted of the robbery charge.


People v. Latour, 2012 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8677 (Nov. 29, 2012)