People v. Olsen

PLUMMER, J.

In this action the defendants were convicted of the crime of burglary in the superior court of the county of Siskiyou and prosecute their appeal from the judgment of conviction therein made and entered. But one question is presented to this court for determination, to wit, the correctness of the order of the superior court permitting an amendment to the information pending the trial. The information as presented to the superior court by the district attorney of Siskiyou County so far as material herein reads as follows:

“The said Jens Olsen and Julius Black on or about the 10th day of February, A. D., 1923, at Sisson at the county of Siskiyou, state of California, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and burglariously enter the store building of one J. M. Schuler at Sisson in said county of

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Siskiyou with, the felonious intent then and there to commit the crime of larceny, contrary to the form, force and effect of the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the People of the State of California. ’ ’

During the course of the trial and at the conclusion of the introduction of testimony by the people the court, upon motion of the district attorney, permitted the district attorney to amend the information by striking out the name of J. M. Schuler and inserting the words Schuler-Knox Company, making the information read thereafter as follows:

“ . . . Did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and burglariously enter the store building of one Schuler-Knox Company at Sisson,” etc.

The authority of the court to permit this motion is as stated above, the question raised upon this appeal.

An examination of the testimony set forth in the transcript in this case shows that the defendants were discovered by the city marshal of the town of Sisson inside the store building known as the Schuler-Knox Company store in the town of Sisson at about 3 o’clock of the morning of February 10th, that the defendants were engaged in ransacking the store and making collection of various articles. The defendants were arrested as they emerged from the store building, one escaping from the officer and running a short distance but thereafter apprehended. It appears from the transcript that the defendants had collected a number of articles from the store and had them in a blanket and knapsack. These articles included pocket-knives, razors, suits of clothing, shoes, shirts, etc., all itemized and set forth in the testimony. The testimony of the arresting officer also shows that the defendants at the time of their arrest were emerging from the particular building herein referred to, being the general merchandise store belonging to the SchulerKnox Company. It appears also from the testimony that the witnesses generally referred to the store as the Schuler store. It also appears in the testimony that J. M. Schuler is a stockholder in the Schuler-Knox Company and was at the time of the commission of the offense the manager in charge at Sisson. It further appears from the testimony that there is no other store known as the Schuler store or Schuler-Knox Company store at the town of Sisson, although