People v. Coblentz

Opinion

ASHBY, J.

By court trial appellant was found guilty of burglary and was granted probation with 180 days to be served in county jail.

[479]

On the morning of June 6, 1980, the manager of the Thrifty Gas Station at 1025 West Anaheim Street in Wilmington opened the station and discovered that it had been burglarized. Cigarettes were missing and the safe, which should have included the money from previous shifts, was empty. The total amount missing, including the cigarettes, was over $2,900.

Suspecting an “inside job,” the head security officer for Thrifty Oil Company arranged for several employees, including appellant, to be given a lie detector test by a private polygraph examiner hired by the company. During the examination, appellant confessed to committing the burglary.

Appellant contends his confession should have been suppressed on the ground that the private polygraph examiner did not warn appellant of his

Miranda

rights. This argument has no merit. The private consultant had no connection with the police, and the examination was conducted for the private purposes of appellant’s employer. There was no duty to give a

Miranda

warning.

(In re Eric J.

(1979) 25 Cal.3d 522, 526-528 [159 Cal.Rptr. 317, 601 P.2d 549];

People

v.

Mangiefico

(1972) 25 Cal.App.3d 1041, 1049 [102 Cal.Rptr. 449].) The

Eric J.

case is very similar on its facts. The appellant, an employee at a skating rink, was questioned by the manager of the rink, concerning stolen skates he was attempting to sell. (25 Cal.3d at p. 526.) The court held that absent some complicity on the part of law enforcement officials with the interrogation, no