People v. Lopez

SHINN, P. J.

By an information filed by the district attorney of Los Angeles County, defendant was charged with one count of burglary and five counts of receiving stolen property. The crimes set forth in the six counts of the information were alleged to have been committed on various dates between October 15, 1951, and March 30, 1953. Count I alleged that defendant burglarized a market and stole an adding machine; count II alleged that he had received a stolen adding machine knowing that it was stolen; counts III, IV and V respectively alleged that defendant had received stolen billfolds, a wrist watch, and three dozen eggs, knowing them to be stolen; count VI alleged that defendant had received a stolen pen, knowing it to be stolen. Defendant waived jury trial, and upon trial before the court was found guilty on counts II, III, IV and V and not guilty on counts I and VI. He appeals from the judgment, which placed him on probation, urging insufficiency of the evidence.

Section 496 of the Penal Code describes the offense of receiving stolen property as the buying or receiving of personal property which was stolen or obtained through theft or extortion with the knowledge that the property was so obtained, either for gain, or to prevent the owner from recovering his property.

The items specified in counts III, IV and V were allegedly stolen by boys, who sold the things they had stolen to defendant at his beer parlor. Two boys, aged 14 and 15 years,

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testified that they stole six wallets or billfolds from a leather goods shop, and sold five of them to defendant for $4.00. The same two boys testified that they broke into a house which was identified as the residence of one Larry Kaehaturian. One of the boys testified that while there he stole a wrist watch which he gave to defendant. This witness and Kachaturian testified that a watch found on the premises of defendant and introduced into evidence resembled the watch which was removed from Kaehaturian’s house. Another boy, aged 10, testified that he and two other boys broke into a poultry store; that he stole two dozen eggs and that one of his companions also stole two dozen eggs; that he and his companion gave the eggs to one of the brothers of the witness, and that he saw this brother give the eggs to defendant in exchange for some coins. The brother, who was 13 years old, testified that he received three dozen eggs from the two boys, and that he sold them to defendant for $1.50. There was other evidence tending to prove that the wallets had been stolen and evidence that the poultry store had been burglarized at the time the hoys allegedly stole the eggs.