People v. Golembiewski

WHITE, J.

After trial before the court sitting without a jury, appellant was convicted of two counts of burglary of the second degree as charged in counts I and II, and one count of first degree burglary as alleged in count III, of an information filed by the district attorney. He appeals from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

It is first contended by appellant that there is no evidence which tended to connect him with the commission of the offenses charged except the mere fact that he was found in possession of articles of personal property which, according to the testimony, had been stolen from the respective rooms occupied by the owners of the stolen property.

Epitomized, the facts leading to the apprehension of appellant and to the accusations against him are, that a secondhand dealer, on the morning of the burglary alleged in count I, purchased from defendant, a radio and a suit of clothes identified at the trial as a radio and clothing similar to the articles alleged in said count to have been stolen. The secondhand dealer noted the license number of the automobile occupied by appellant when the sale of the aforesaid property was consummated and transmitted such license number to the police. Fortified with this information, the police apprehended appellant while he was occupying the automobile bearing the reported license number. At the time of the apprehension officers found what is commonly known as a “jimmy” and a glass cutter in the rear of appellant’s automobile. and also found in appellant’s pocket a wallet iden

[117]

tified at the trial as among the stolen articles. Upon searching the room occupied by appellant, the police found therein a rope ladder together with numerous articles taken in the burglaries alleged in counts II and III of the information. When the officer asked appellant if he would tell where he had sold property which he had stolen from various people so that it could be returned to them, appellant’s reply was, “I will think it over”. It might here be observed that certain of the property stolen in the respective burglaries, consisting of certain papers and certificates, were found by the police secreted under the rug in appellant’s room. Also discovered in appellant’s living quarters was a pair of black tennis shoes characterized by the officer at the trial as ''sneakers ’ ’. Noting that the shoes had originally been white the officer inquired of appellant why he had dyed them black, to which the latter replied, “Because I like black better than white”. The defendant introduced no evidence at his trial nor did he take the stand in his own defense.