People v. Dean

HERNDON, J.

Convicted of second degree robbery and sentenced to state prison, defendant appeals from the judgment and from the order denying his motion for a new trial. His contentions are: (1) that the trial court erred in allowing the filing of an amended information; (2) that there was no sufficient evidence of his guilt; (3) that the evidence does not support the jury’s verdict that he was sane at the time the crime was committed; and (4) that the trial court erred in failing to poll the jury.

In the original information defendant was charged in one count with grand theft, a felony and, in an alternate count, with violation of section 503 of the Vehicle Code, a felony. Both counts charged the felonious taking of a certain automobile on January 30, 1957. At the time of arraignment, the public defender was appointed as counsel for defendant. Upon entry of pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, two doctors were appointed to examine defendant and report. The reports of these two doctors disclosing a difference of opinion, a third doctor was appointed.

At the time of trial, on motion of the district attorney, an amended information was filed charging appellant with the crime of robbery, in that on or about January 30, 1957, he did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and by means of force and fear take from the person, possession and immediate pres

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ence of one Harold Burne, a 1953 Mercury automobile, of the value of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars. At arraignment on the amended information, defendant entered a plea of not guilty.

In a jury trial, a verdict of guilty of second degree robbery was returned. With the court’s permission, defendant thereupon entered the further plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. A trial of this issue resulted in a verdict that defendant was sane at the time the crime was committed. The judgment of conviction was entered and defendant was thereafter sentenced to state prison, the sentence to run consecutively to a sentence pronounced in another ease in which probation was revoked.

No error has been shown in the order allowing the filing of the amended information. Section 739 of the Penal Code has been interpreted to authorize the district attorney to charge by information the commission of any offense disclosed by the evidence taken at the preliminary proceeding even though such offense is not specified in the order of commitment, provided the offense charged is related to the transaction which was the basis for the commitment order.