People v. Conrad

NOURSE, P. J.

Appellant and one Lewis were tried jointly before the court without a jury on a charge of burglary. Both defendants were also charged with, and admitted, a prior .felony conviction. The trial court found appellant guilty and defendant Lewis not guilty. The appeal is from the judgment and from the order denying a new trial: Appellant raises two grounds for a reversal of the judgment:

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(1) that the evidence is insufficient, and (2) that Lewis’s testimony lacks proper corroboration.

The appellant was an employee of a construction firm working under a building contract. The company maintained a shed on the premises in which it stored tools, nails and bolts. The shed was locked with a padlock. The shed was closed and locked at quitting time on a Friday. The following day a foreman of the company found that the lock had been broken and on the following Monday it was found that eight cartons of nails had been removed. On the same Friday night Conrad approached Lewis and arranged with him to store the nails in Lewis’s basement. This was done and Conrad directed Lewis to arrange for the sale of the nails agreeing to pay him one-half of the profits. Lewis made such a sale and he, Conrad and an employee of the purchaser went to the Lewis basement to make delivery. While Conrad and Lewis were carrying the nails from the basement to the purchaser’s truck they were apprehended by the police and placed under arrest. Lewis gave a full statement of the circumstances. Conrad failed to deny any of the facts stated and refused to answer all questions directed to him by the police concerning his participation in the crime.

A defendant’s possession of stolen property immediately following the burglary taken with false and misleading statements regarding his possession

(People

v.

Russell,

34 Cal.App.2d 665, 669 [94 P.2d 400], his familiarity with the premises burglarized

(People

v.

Carroll,