People v. Swanson

JENNINGS, J.

The defendant was convicted, of the crime of burglary of the second degree. From the judgment of conviction and from the trial court’s order denying his motion for a new trial he has prosecuted this appeal.

Among the grounds urged for a reversal, appellant contends that the evidence produced at the trial was insufficient to support the verdict of guilt. It is therefore proper to describe as briefly as possible the salient evidentiary facts which the record discloses.

At some time between the hour of 3:30 P. M. of Friday, July 31, 1931, and the hour of 9:30 A. M. of Sunday, August 2, 1931, the home of Max Royer in the city of Fullerton, Orange County, California, was broken into and a number of articles of personal property were taken there

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from. Among the articles stolen were a Kolster radio, a machine gun, and eight revolvers and pistols. Two witnesses produced by the respondent testified that they saw the appellant in company with one Cecil Rennaker in Santa Ana, Orange County, at 12:30 P. M. on Saturday, August 1, 1931, at which time Rennaker repossessed a Durant automobile. At about 4 o’clock P. M. of the same day appellant and Rennaker called at the residence of R. A. Haskell at 1950 East 74th "Street, in the city of Los Angeles where they remained for at least an hour and twenty minutes. At this time the radio and the eight firearms, which were identified as articles taken from the home of Max Royer, were exhibited and sold by Rennaker to various persons in the Haskell house. The radio was sold by Rennaker to Mrs. Haskell for the sum of $25. A so-called bill of sale to the radio was written by appellant and was signed by him under the fictitious name, “Bud Rogers”. The evidence indicates that appellant wrote this instrument and signed it at the request of Rennaker. One of the revolvers was sold by Rennaker to R. A. Haskell and six firearms were sold by Rennaker to Geo. A. Schaefer. There was some dispute between Rennaker and -Schaefer as to the price demanded by the former for one of the weapons, a German Mauser automatic pistol. Prior to agreeing upon the amount offered by Schaefer for this gun, Rennaker consulted with appellant who, according to Schaefer’s testimony, objected that the price was not adequate whereupon Rennaker stated: “I own these guns too” and appellant said “All right, go ahead and sell them.” Schaefer also testified that he inquired of both Rennaker and appellant if they were sure the guns were not “hot” and that each of them assured him that they were not “hot”; that they were state officers and that they offered to take the guns and have them registered for him. The expression “hot” as used by the witness appears to convey the meaning “stolen”. Schaefer’s testimony also shows that he handed the money finally agreed upon as the sale price to Rennaker who handed it to appellant. Appellant, who resides in Los Angeles, was arrested on August 27, 1931, at Newport Beach in Orange County, to which place he testified that he had gone because he did not wish to be questioned in regard to the sale of the radio and firearms which subsequent