People v. Bealey

HOUSER, J.

Under the provisions of section 269a of the Penal Code, a jury found defendant guilty of the offense of living in

“a

state of cohabitation and adultery” with a woman who was not the wife of defendant. From the judgment and the order denying defendant’s motion for a new trial, defendant appeals to this court.

While the evidence was somewhat conflicting, the jury was authorized to conclude therefrom that the following facts were established: That about a “quarter to eleven” o’clock on the night of March 23, 1926, under authority of a search-warrant for intoxicating liquor, two deputy sheriffs went to a private garage, which, in addition to housing an automobile, had a living-room attached thereto and in which defendant and the woman in question were at least temporarily sojourning; that on arriving at the garage one of the deputy sheriffs several times demanded of defendant admittance into the room at that time occupied by defendant and the woman, to which demand the defendant responded, “What is your hurry? Wait a minute; give me some time,” all of which was repeated by defendant several times; that after waiting two or three minutes the deputy sheriff kicked in the door, and upon entering the room, which contained a bed, a dresser, an oil-stove, a few dishes, and a lot of men’s and women’s clothing, he found defendant standing beside the bed putting on his coat and vest, and the woman was in the bed, with the bed-covering and pillow next to the wall in a disordered condition, while the bed-covering over the woman was pulled over her very smoothly; that defendant and the woman had been living in the garage for more than three weeks; that during such time it was the custom of defendant to leave the garage in the

[650]

morning between 7 and 7 :S0 o’clock, return about noon, leave again about 1 o’clock P. M. and again return at about 5 o’clock in the afternoon; following which defendant and the woman would dress and go out together, and thereafter return to the garage at about 8:30 or 9 o’clock P. M., after which the lights in the garage would be extinguished; that on several occasions both defendant and the woman were seen in the garage dressing and undressing, and particularly that defendant was seen therein putting on his nightshirt, and that defendant had admitted that he had had sexual intercourse with the woman.