People v. Kinard

COUGHLIN, J.—

The defendant and appellant herein was , charged with, and found guilty of burglarizing a service station, a violation of Penal Code section 459, and the attempted

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burglary of a market; was sentenced to prison; and appeals from the judgment of conviction.

The sole question raised upon appeal is whether certain evidence introduced over objection was obtained in violation of the constitutional guarantee against unlawful searches and seizures.

After the defendant’s arrest a police officer went to 1851 Logan Street, in San Diego, which was the home of the defendant’s mother-in-law and the address he had given as his residence; there interviewed the defendant’s sister-in-law, a Mrs. Flores, the latter’s brother and other relatives; told them that the defendant had been arrested for burglary ; asked if he lived at the address in question and received an affirmative reply; asked to see his belongings and was given a suitcase which the officer searched; inquired whether the defendant lived anywhere else; was told that he had been given permission to stay at 1809 Logan Street, which was Mrs. Flores’ home, as she was residing with her mother due to an accident. At the trial the officer testified respecting his conversation with Mrs. Flores that, among other things, “I asked her if I might have permission to look through her house. She stated ‘Yes’ and started looking for the house key. Her mother came in, shortly thereafter, and there was some conversation about her having given the mother the house key. So they both looked, and then Mrs. Flores informed me that they couldn’t find it, but that there was a broken window on the side of their house that was easy to get into.” Thereafter, the officer asked the brother to accompany him to 1809 Logan Street; upon arrival went to the broken window; requested the brother to enter the home through this window; entered the house after the brother had complied with this request and opened the front door; and, upon search, located articles implicating the defendant in the burglary of the service station and the attempted burglary of the market. These articles were offered in evidence as exhibits in support of the People’s case. The defendant objected thereto upon the ground that they had been obtained without a search warrant and in violation of his constitutional guarantee against unlawful searches and seizures. The court overruled the objection upon the ground that permission to make the subject search had been given. The defendant contends that this ruling was error.