People v. Richard W.

Opinion

ASHBY, J.

The trial court found that appellant Richard W., a minor, had committed burglary (Pen. Code, § 459), and adjudged him a ward of the juvenile court (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602). Richard’s sole contention on appeal is that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the finding because the witness’ extrajudicial identification was not confirmed at the adjudication hearing.

Facts

At about 12:30 a.m. on April 10, 1981, Ms. Sylvia Cruz looked out of her bedroom window and saw a group of four boys standing at the Union 76 gas station next to her house, about 25 feet away. Three of the boys went to a rear window of the station and climbed through, while the fourth remained outside, looking up and down the street. Ms. Cruz called the police from her bedroom telephone as her mother continued to watch, and then went back to her window outlook. From there, she saw the three boys

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climb back out of the window and walk up to a bus stop at the corner of the station, a little over 25 feet away from her window, where the fourth boy joined them. About 15 minutes later the police arrived, and Ms. Cruz saw the officers stop the boys and arrest them. Ms. Cruz stepped into her front yard and identified all four boys who were now standing next to the police car, again slightly over 25 feet away from her. She identified appellant as one of the three boys who had entered the station. Later investigation showed that the station’s rear windows had been broken and that the lock to the front door had been stripped on the inside.

At the hearing, Ms. Cruz pointed to appellant as one of the boys the police had arrested; however, she was not sure of his identity because by this time, she could no longer remember what the boys had looked like. Nevertheless, she reiterated that the four boys she had pointed out to the police on April 10, 1981, were the same ones she had observed that night. She was positive of that identification, and held fast to her position during cross-examination. A police officer testified that appellant was one of the four boys arrested on April 10, and that Ms. Cruz identified him as one of the three who entered the station; he stated that Ms. Cruz had been positive about the identification.