The defendant, a former investigator for the Baton Rouge City Prosecutor, was charged in separate indictments with three violations of R.S. 14:67 (felony theft). In answer to bills of particulars propounded by the defendant, the state alleged that the defendant committed theft by means of fraudulent representations “that he would take care of DWI tickets.” The defendant filed motions to quash the indictments on the grounds that as modified by the answers to the bills of particulars, they failed to charge the crime of felony theft as defined by R.S. 14:67. The trial judge granted the motions. This court granted writs to review that decision.
R.S. 14:67 provides in part:
“Theft is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which . belongs to another, either without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. An intent to deprive the other permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential.”
When enacted in 1942 as part of the new criminal code, that statute had the effect of combining the traditional offense of larceny, embezzlement and obtaining by false pretenses. The Comment of the Reporter states that it was intended as a clear and simple statement of the “fundamental notion that it is socially wrong to take the property of another, in any fashion whatsoever.” Reporter’s Comment, R.S. 14:67 at p. 524. In State v. Pete,
As the Reporter’s Comment indicates, R.S. 14:67 does not merely incorporate the traditional crime of false pretenses. Unlike the common law offense of false pretenses, R.S. 14:67 has been held to encompass misrepresentations as to future facts. State v. Dabbs,
In State v. Dabbs, supra, this court affirmed the conviction for theft of a defendant who obtained three automobiles by fraudulent representations that he would pay in the future. In State v. Williams,
In ruling on a motion to quash, the trial judge must determine if the facts set out in the indictment and bill of particulars are sufficient to constitute a crime. In the instant case, the allegations that the defendant took money by means of fraudulent representations that he would take care of tickets falls squarely within the provisions of R.S. 14:67.
The judgment of the district court sustaining the motions to quash is reversed, the indictments are reinstated, and the case is remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
Notes
. Bennett, Comparison of the Criminal Code with Prior Criminal Law, 5 La.L.Rev. 6, 37-38 (1942).
