People v. Rodis

PEEK, J.

This is an appeal by defendant from a judgment of conviction of the crime of burglary in the second degree.

On the evening of June 7, 1955, when LaMotte H. Stinson left his drug store in Arbuckle, all of the doors and windows were intact and locked. The following morning when he opened the store he discovered that several radios, electric shavers, pens, cigarette lighters and watches were missing. He then examined the separate case where the narcotics were kept under lock and found that it had been opened and the contents taken. The safe had also been opened and approximately $600 to $700 was missing. The total value of all of the property taken amounted to approximately $1,500, the narcotics being valued at approximately $500. One or two of the panes in a window at the rear of the store had been previously broken and cardboard inserted in place of the broken panes. This window was covered with a screen on the outside and was approximately 9 feet above the ground. The screen showed that it had been torn off from the outside and that entry into the drug store had been made by removing some of the cardboard. The lock on the back door had been broken from the inside. A deputy sheriff of Colusa County investigated the scene on the morning of June 8 and found a fingerprint on the outside of the window. The fingerprint was removed by a process known as “transo-lift” which consists of dusting the fingerprint with a powder, placing a piece of Scotch tape over the print and then removing it. Following the arrest of the defendant his fingerprints were taken and were compared by a technician in the State Bureau of Criminal Identification who testified he had found them to be identical. One of the radios was recovered in a pawn shop in Sacramento and traced to two individuals who were in no way connected with the defendant herein, nor were they prosecuted. The

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defendant’s mother, brother and sister-in-law all testified that on the night in question defendant stayed at the home of his brother and sister-in-law in Sacramento; that he was last seen at approximately 2 a. m.; that he was still asleep at the hour of approximately 6 a.m.; and that he could not have left the house without the knowledge of the brother or sister-in-law. The defendant testified in his own behalf and denied ever having been in Arbuckle. Upon cross-examination he was asked by the district attorney if he had ever been addicted to the use of narcotics. Over the objection of his counsel, the prosecution was allowed to introduce a conversation with Sheriff Mayfield in which the defendant stated that he had once been an addict but had used no narcotics for approximately eight months. At the close of the prosecution’s case, the defendant moved for a directed verdict, and at the close of defendant’s case a similar motion was made, both of which were denied.