People v. McClure

SHINN, P. J.

Appellant Willie McClure was convicted by a jury of burglary in the second degree. He was charged with the burglary of a railroad boxcar and with one prior conviction of theft from an interstate shipment, a felony, for which he had suffered imprisonment. This appeal is from the judgment.

The evidence was that a switchman for the Union Pacific Railroad coming to work at 3 p. m., on March 22, 1954, observed that the seals on three boxcars on a siding near the Soto Street Sears, Roebuck building were in place, and the doors of the ears were closed. At 7:30 p. m. when he returned to move the cars he noticed that the seals on each of the three cars had been broken, and the doors of two of the boxcars had been forced open. An agent of Union Pacific testified that no one had been given permission to enter the boxcars. Prom one consigned to Sears, Roebuck Company, shoes, and shirts bearing the Sears’ trademark “Pilgrim,” and sportswear were missing. Defendant was arrested at 12:45 a. m. on March 23,1954, while seated in his automobile. The arresting officer found a large number of shoes, men’s trousers and shirts bearing the “Pilgrim” trademark in the back seat. Some of these were placed in evidence and were identified as those found in defendant’s car.

Defendant gave conflicting explanations of where he had obtained the merchandise. The arresting officer testified that defendant told him at first that he knew nothing about the merchandise in the back seat; that later he said the goods belonged to his wife. Officer Edwards testified defendant told him that he bought the merchandise from an unidentified man at “23rd and Compton” and that the next day appellant told him that the “other man” had entered the freight cars, and had thrown the cartons out to him, but that he, defendant, had not entered the freight cars himself; that they went to 23d and Compton where he paid the other man $30 for the items. On the witness stand, defendant testified he had seen a man removing the cartons from the freight cars and

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stashing” them, and that he, defendant, had gathered the mer

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ehandise up to take to the police station, in the course of which he was arrested.