People v. Mitchell

CRAIG, J.

The appellants were convicted of grand larceny upon an information which charged them with having on or about December 28, 1925, stolen and carried away automobile wheels and other accessories of the value of three hundred dollars, the personal property of one J. P. Furr.

It appeared that Furr left his automobile in a shed in Telegraph canyon at about 11 o’clock P. M. of the date mentioned; that there were then on the ear four green disc wheels, with tires and tubes, and a Willard battery, besides a complete extra wheel on the rear of the car; that Furr returned to the shed on the following morning at about 8 o’clock, whereupon he discovered the machine resting upon ties; the four wheels on the axles, together with the tires and tubes, and the battery, were missing, but the spare wheel was in place; he testified that on December 29th he found at the city hall at La Habra four wheels and a battery which resembled those which he had lost; the wheels fitted his car and matched the extra tire, but Furr would not swear positively that they were the identical wheels that were removed on the preceding night, though as near as he could tell they and the battery were the same.

Officers at La Habra testified that they arrested the defendants at that place on the morning of the 29th, at about 3 o’clock; that they then had the wheels and battery in another automobile; that one of them at first said that he had obtained them from his brother in the oil fields, but later, on different occasions and to various persons, the defendants stated that they had taken them from a Hupmobile; one officer asked them if they had stolen anything more than the wheels, to which Mitchell replied in the affirmative, and Nilson said, “No we got a battery too.” It was further testified that when they were asked why they took them, they replied, “We don’t know why. We had the opportunity and did do it.” The officers located Furr’s Hupmo

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bile and conveyed the defendants to the shed, where certain admissions were made. Some of these were excluded by the trial court.

The defendants did not take the stand, but certain witnesses testified in their behalf as to their reputation for honesty and veracity and estimated that the stolen property was worth about $168. An insurance adjuster for the Automobile Club of Southern California testified at the instance of the People that, allowing for depreciation, the wheels, tires, tubes, and battery were of a value of $300 to $325.