MCNAIR v. COMMONWEALTH OF VA

(unpublished)

DECEMBER 1, 1998

Record No. 2632-97-1

RONNIE McNAIR

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

MEMORANDUM OPINION[1] BY JUDGE JOSEPH E. BAKER

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH

Von L. Piersall, Jr.,
Judge

Argued at Norfolk,
Virginia

Present: Judges Bray,
Overton and Senior Judge Baker

Michael Rosenberg
(Richardson & Rosenberg, L.L.C., on brief), for appellant.

Steven A. Witmer,
Assistant Attorney General (Mark L. Earley, Attorney General, on
brief), for appellee.

Ronnie McNair
(appellant) appeals from his bench trial convictions by the
Circuit Court of the City of Portsmouth (trial court) on multiple
counts of forgery, uttering, and petit larceny. The charges
resulted from appellant’s involvement with blank checks stolen
from the Westhaven Church of God (the Church). Finding no error,
we affirm the convictions.

The judgment of a trial
court will be disturbed only if plainly wrong or without evidence
to support it. See Martin v. Commonwealth, 4 Va.
App. 438, 443, 358 S.E.2d 415, 418 (1987). The credibility of a
witness’ testimony and the inferences to be drawn from proven
facts are matters solely for the fact finder’s determination. See
Long v. Commonwealth, 8 Va. App. 194, 199, 379 S.E.2d 473,
476 (1989).

Appellant was charged
with forgery, uttering, and larceny in connection with several
checks stolen from the Church and drawn on its bank account. He
initially contended that the Church was not a legal entity
qualifying to be prejudiced as "another" as set forth
in Code Sect. 18.2-172. That statute provides:

If any person forge
any writing, other than such as is mentioned in Sects.
18.2-168 and 18.2-170, to the prejudice of another’s
right, or utter, or attempt to employ as true, such forged
writing, knowing it to be forged, he shall be guilty of a
Class 5 felony. Any person who shall obtain, by any false
pretense or token, the signature of another person, to any
such writing, with intent to defraud any other person, shall
be deemed guilty of the forgery thereof, and shall be subject
to like punishment.

At oral argument,
appellant conceded that this contention was without merit. We
agree.

Appellant further
contended and argued that the evidence was insufficient to
support his convictions. We disagree. Because this opinion has
not been designated for publication and, thereby, has no
precedential value, we make only limited references to the facts
supporting his convictions.

Stated most favorably to
the Commonwealth, granting to it all reasonable inferences fairly
deducible therefrom, see Higginbotham v. Commonwealth,
216 Va. 349, 352, 218 S.E.2d 534, 537 (1975), the evidence proved
that the Church had a checking account with NationsBank. Only
three persons were authorized to draw checks on the Church
account: Reverend Frank Allen, Verlene Raily and Peggy Jarman. In
August 1996, several blank checks, including check numbers 1006,
1007, 1047, 1278 and 1299, were stolen from the Church.

The Commonwealth’s
evidence sufficiently proved that appellant wrote check number
1278 and gave it to Johnnie Williams, who cashed the check and
split the proceeds with appellant. Appellant gave check numbers
1047 and 1299 to Donnell Scott, who cashed them and kept the
proceeds. A forensic scientist with the Division of Forensic
Science examined check numbers 1047, 1278 and 1299 and concluded
that appellant wrote these checks. The evidence also sufficiently
proved that appellant gave Patricia Collins check numbers 1006
and 1007, which were forged with the drawer name Jeffery Walker.
Collins cashed the checks and gave the proceeds to appellant.

We hold that the record
supports each of the convictions appealed and, accordingly,
affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Pursuant to Code Sect. 17.1-413,
recodifying Code Sect. 17-116.010, this opinion is not designated
for publication.