People v. Erkinger

MOORE, P. J.

Wearing a sport shirt and carrying his coat over his arm, appellant entered the balcony of a theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles about 9 o’clock in the evening. It was the last day of August, 1952. As he entered from the west side of the upper balcony, he glanced up and then looked to the lower floor. Starting across the main aisle dividing the two sections, of the balcony, he looked about and proceeded toward the back where he occupied the ninth seat from the aisle in the third row. He sat looking at the people in all directions for about three minutes. Then he arose, still carrying his coat, walked eastward and down the main aisle toward the west end of the balcony. There he occupied a seat about seven rows from the front and gazed about him, paying no attention to the picture. As he sat, his head moved from side to side, only at times toward the front although the screen was directly before him. Following a three-minute intermission, defendant arose, proceeded down the main aisle, crossed the balcony to its east entrance and turned his gaze backward toward the audience. As the house lights were dimmed and the screen was again illuminated, appellant crossed the balcony to its west entrance. In doing so, he looked both downward into the loge section and up into the general admission area. On arriving at the west entrance, he turned, walked back toward the east side of the balcony to its fourth aisle from the west end and entered a row in the loge section in which

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no other person was seated. He occupied a seat behind and„ to the right of the witness, Mrs. Tobey, whose husband sat on her left. Her coat was on the seat to her right and her purse was beneath it. Removing his own coat from his arm, appellant draped it over the seat upon which lay the coat and purse, and sat down. He then withdrew a cigarette from his pocket and on putting it into his mouth he leaned over, extending both hands to his coat as if in the act of searching for a match. But his hands went further. They reached under Mrs. Tobey’s coat and to her purse which he opened. He picked out the billfold and brought it up under his coat. He then started out of the aisle toward the west side of the balcony, continued to the main aisle and directed his course to the east entrance. During such movements he kept his coat over his arm with both hands thereby concealed. But as he approached the exit, he began to don his coat.