People v. Platnick

WHITE, J.

In an information filed by the district attorney of Los Angeles County defendants were accused of the crime of burglary. Defendant Platnick was also charged with a prior conviction of the offense of. burglary and the defendant Frabasilio with two prior felony convictions, one for the offense of burglary and the other for petty theft with a prior felony conviction. Motions made by each defendant to set aside the information under section 995 of the Penal Code were denied; they each entered pleas of not guilty and denied the prior convictions. Subsequently all prior convictions were duly admitted. Following trial before a jury each defendant was found guilty of burglary in the second degree. Their motion for a new trial was denied. From the judgment pronounced against them, as well as from the

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order denying their motion for a new trial, defendants prosecute this appeal.

A brief was filed in this court by defendant Frabasilio, but none has been filed on behalf of defendant Platnick. He, however, has requested that his appeal be considered upon the brief filed on behalf of his codefendant.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, as we are required to do following guilty verdicts, we find in the record evidence that on the night of February 27, 1945, Louis Mauro operated a cafe at 114 East Seventh Street in the city of Los Angeles. He closed and locked the place shortly after midnight. When he returned the following morning, at about 6:30 o ’clock, two police officers were at his place of business. The back door and the window were broken and the lock on the store room door had been pried open, the lock being found on the floor. Several cases of assorted brands of whiskey and pinch-bottles of Scotch whisky, of the value of approximately $800, were missing, as was a Stromberg-Carlson radio, some eight or nine dollars in money, a hand drill and a pair of finger-nail clippers. About four days prior to the burglary Mr. Mauro had seen the defendants in his cafe, but they were not together.

On the night of the burglary two police officers who were patrolling the district in the vicinity of 15th and Main Streets, which is about eight blocks from the burglarized cafe, observed two taillights on an automobile in an alley. Upon investigation they saw two automobiles parked side by side in a parking lot adjoining 1836 South Main Street. Defendant Frabasilio was sitting in one of the cars, a Chevrolet coupe, and the defendant Platnick was standing with his elbow leaning on the window on the left side of the same coupe. The officers put their spotlight on the two vehicles, whereupon defendant Platnick started to walk away, but halted upon command of the officers. When one of the officers asked him where he was going, he said, “I have just parked my car and I am going home.” At that time defendant Frabasilio stepped out of his car and disappeared between the two automobiles. He was found crouched down against the wall in front of the ears and came out upon command of the officers.