People v. Juehling

HOUSER, P. J.

From each of two several judgments of conviction on as many separate charges of receiving stolen property that theretofore had been preferred against her, as well as from an order by which her motion for a new trial was denied, defendant has appealed to this court.

As developed by the evidence adduced on the trial of the action, it appears that as to count I of the information, on or about January 22, 1935, in circumstances unnecessary herein to be set forth, a watch that was contained in a lady’s handbag was stolen from an automobile at a time when it was being driven by its owner; and that as to count II of the information, on or about December 17, 1934, in similar circumstances, another watch was stolen. On May 29, 1935, which was several months after the latter of the watches had been stolen, defendant was placed under arrest. At that time she was driving an automobile; and before having been taken to the police station, at her request she was taken to a certain gasoline filling station, where within the immediate presence, but outside the hearing and sight, of the arresting officer, that is to say, while the officer sat in the front seat of the automobile, and while defendant was outside the automobile and at the rear thereof, she had some conversation with the proprietor of the filling station and one of his employees, following which defendant went inside the office building of the filling station where she leaned against the jamb of one of the doorways therein, in which position she was in reach of a “pigeonhole” drawer in which the proprietor of the filling station was accustomed to file certain memoranda or invoices that related to charges which, from time to time, he had made against defendant on account of purchases made by her of gasoline from the proprietor of said filling station. On the way from the filling station to the police station, the arresting officer asked defendant what she had done with a diamond ring which he testified defendant had been wearing, before she reached the filling station and which, at the time he asked the question, she was not wearing; to which query she replied that she had not been wearing any such ring. After the arrival of defendant. at the police station, a search of a suitcase that was her property and which was then in the automobile, disclosed

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that, among other things, it contained not only the watch that was described in count I of the Information, but also several diamond rings. On being questioned by the arresting officer as to her possession and ownership of such articles, she gave various answers, such as that she had acquired them “from different people—different places”; and that “I don’t know; it doesn’t matter”. And with respect to the length of time that the watch and several rings had been in her possession, at first she said, “Oh, three months”; which later she changed to “Oh, ten years”. On the day when the preliminary examination on the several charges against defendant was conducted, in reply to questions propounded .to her with reference to a man named Benny Solis, who apparently was suspected by the police of having stolen the watches and the rings, defendant replied: “Well, I would rather not say anything about it, but . . . you are on the right track. . . . For several months I have been trying to get out of this racket, trying to get away from this boy; anybody that knows me or knows him will tell you I have avoided him for quite a little while, but I believe I got out too late, looks like I got out of the racket too late. . . . Well, Benny Solis was, (the operator of the ‘gang’) he was small and could get around fast”; and that she “didn’t think Joe operated at all, but that Benny was the actual operator of the bunch”.