People v. Derenzo

WOOD, J.

Defendant was charged in counts I and II of the information with the crimes of robbery and burglary. The information contained three other counts which were dismissed during the trial on motion of the district attorney. A jury returned verdicts of guilty on counts I and II and defendant has appealed from the judgments of conviction and from the order denying his motion for a new trial.

It is now contended that the evidence is insufficient to justify the verdicts. From the evidence presented it ap

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pears that on April 27, 1940, defendant was the proprietor of the Patio café on Pico Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles. He became acquainted with Anthony Ardolino and Jack Magusin and told them that he had had some trouble with “his girl” and that if they would go to her house and ask her for the furs and jewelry that he had bought for her she would deliver them because she would be scared. Defendant telephoned and assured them that the “girl” was at home. Thereupon defendant drove in his Cadillac automobile to the residence of Mrs. Lloyd Knechtel, 1326 Londonderry Place in Los Angeles. Ardolino and Magusin followed in a Ford ear owned by defendant. Upon arriving at Mrs. Knechtel’s residence defendant pointed to the house and said, “Go on in.” Ardolino and Magusin then entered Mrs. Knechtel’s apartment on the ground floor “with guns,” and by putting her in fear, robbed her of clothing, furs and jewelry of the value of several thousand dollars. After leaving Mrs. Knechtel’s apartment Magusin got into the Cadillac car which was driven away by defendant, followed by the Ford car driven by Ardolino. They arrived at a private garage in Beverly Hills. Defendant unlocked the door of the garage with a key and placed the jewelry and furs in the garage.

An hour later defendant met Ardolino at the café and told him that they did not get all the furs. The next day defendant told Ardolino that he could get $100 for the jewelry and furs.

In the meantime defendant had contacted one Birrell, a real estate dealer with whom he had had business transactions for a number of years. He asked Birrell to do a favor for him and told him that he had a friend from San Francisco who was in straitened financial circumstances and wanted to sell his wife’s jewelry but that he, the defendant, did not want to appear to buy the jewelry and make a profit on it. He suggested to Birrell that he could appear to be the purchaser of the jewelry and gave to Birrell $100 to use in the purchase. Later he presented Ardolino to Birrell and Birrell purchased from Ardolino a watch and two rings, which had been taken from the Knechtel apartment, for the sum of $90. A few minutes later defendant returned to Birrell’s office and secured the jewelry and the $10 remaining of the original sum which he had given to Birrell. Sev