People v. Williams

SHEPARD, J.

Defendant was convicted of grand theft and sentenced to prison. She appeals from the judgment of conviction and the order denying a motion for new trial. .

The trial was had before the court without a jury. The cause was by stipulation of the parties submitted to the trial court on the evidence taken at the preliminary examination, plus some additional evidence offered by the People. Defendant did not take the witness stand and no evidence was offered by the defense. A second count of the information charging burglary and a charged prior conviction were dismissed on motion of the district attorney.

The evidence shows that defendant went into Lowe’s Men’s Store in Ontario, California, on May 6, 1957; that a sales clerk therein while waiting on another customer saw defendant pushing the hangers holding men’s suits back and forth on the rack; that he then saw her walk away, grabbed at the front of her skirt, “hitching it up”; that she walked slowly out of the lobby, again “hitching up” the front of her skirt; that he followed and watched her some distance along the street; that he then called the police and said: “A girl is standing in front of the First National Bank and I am sure she has merchandise from our store under her skirt. . . . She is a colored girl and she is standing in front of the bank at this minute”; that when the police officer arrived at the scene said sales clerk pointed out the defendant; that the officer spoke to her and she was then taken to the police headquarters ; that at the police headquarters a secretary acting as matron, who had been informed by the arresting officer that defendant was suspected of shoplifting, talked to her and asked her to come to another room for the purpose of search; that there is no evidence that she objected to the prospective search other

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than to say “she had nothing on her”; that before any search actually commenced the defendant started to cry and said she had something under her dress; that the matron then asked defendant to help in the search; that defendant then lifted her dress and revealed three complete men’s suits (including pants and suit jackets on hangers) suspended from her pantie girdle; that these suits were later identified as the property of said Lowe’s Men’s Store; that said sales clerk had not given her permission to take them, nor had anyone else in the store done so within his knowledge; that said sales clerk had worked as a salesman and stock clerk for this store continuously for 16 or 17 years, knew the fair market value of the suits, that in his opinion their values at the time of taking was $214, and that the wholesale value was less than $200.