concluding that a mistake of fact in regard to theft need not be reasonable because theft is a specific intent crime

In Navarro, defendant took some wooden beams from a construction site. He was charged with theft. He claimed that he thought the owner had abandoned the beams.

In Navarro, for example, the defendant was charged with grand theft for taking four wooden beams from a construction site.

In Navarro, the court stated that although the "hypothetical reasonable [person]" standard did not apply to a mistake of fact negating specific intent to steal, "[i]t is true that if the jury thought the defendant's belief to be unreasonable, it might infer that he did not in good faith hold such belief."

In People v. Navarro (1979) 99 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1 [160 Cal.Rptr. 692] (Navarro), an oft-cited appellate department case, the defendant was charged with grand theft for taking four wooden beams from a construction site.