People v. Wilson

[613]

Opinion

SILVER, J.

*

Following a jury trial, defendant Douglas Eugene Wilson was convicted of first degree burglary (Pen. Code

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, §§ 459, 460, subd. (1)). In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found true allegations that defendant had previously been convicted of a serious felony (§§ 667, 1192.7) and had served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). Defendant received a prison term of 10 years. On appeal, he asserts instructional and sentencing error. For reasons explained below, we affirm.

Background

On April 17, 1986, Jack Boren was renting a bedroom in a home on Galen Drive in San Jose. The house contained four bedrooms, each of which was equipped with a lock and key. Between 11 a.m. and noon, Boren left the house after locking his bedroom door. When he returned around 2 p.m., he discovered that nine weapons from his gun collection were missing. One of the missing guns was an Uzi semiautomatic carbine. Also missing were a camera, binoculars, some coins and jewelry. There were no signs of forced entry into the residence itself. However, police investigators found defendant’s fingerprint near pry marks on Boren’s bedroom door.

On April 20th, Los Angeles police officers received a report of a man, later identified as defendant, carrying an Uzi machine gun on Hollywood Boulevard. When officers arrived at the scene, defendant attempted to dispose of a yellow bag he was carrying. Inside the bag, officers discovered a silencer and five of the guns stolen from Boren’s room.

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Among these was the Uzi, which had been converted to a fully automatic weapon and had a barrel less than 16 inches in length. Other items belonging to Boren were also discovered in defendant’s possession. The April 20th incident gave rise to a federal prosecution for possession of unregistered weapons. (See 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).)

Boren testified that he had seen defendant at the Galen residence about a month or two before the burglary in the company of the landlady’s son, Doug Orton. Orton, who had a key to the front door, had been in Boren’s room on a couple of occasions and had seen the victim’s gun collection.