People v. Taylor

WOOD, J. Defendants Taylor and Bryant were charged in an information with the crime of grand theft of prop[364]erty of the value of $650. They were also charged in another information with the crime of grand theft of other property of the value of $1,500. Trial by jury was waived, and the cases were consolidated and tried together. The court found defendants guilty as charged in each information, and Taylor appeals from the judgments.

Appellant contends that the “decision”- is contrary to the law and the evidence. He asserts that possession of the stolen property by appellant is all that was shown, and that appellant met the burden of explaining that possession satisfactorily.

In the evening of April 9, 1945, one Seidman, a representative of a New York surgical instruments company, who was a guest at a hotel in Los Angeles, parked his automobile in the hotel parking lot, and locked the doors. At that time articles, which Seidman testified were of the value of $650, were in the automobile. Those articles included a brief case containing blueprints, a box of surgical instruments, a box of tools and a tobacco pouch with Seidman’s name on it. When he returned the next morning the doors of his automobile were unlocked and the articles which were in it the night before were missing. In the evening of April 6, 1945, Merie Bosh, a resident of Salt Lake City, parked her automobile on a street in Los Angeles, and locked the doors. At that time her baggage and the baggage of her lady friend, which she testified were of the value of approximately $1,500, were in the automobile. The baggage included a great quantity of women's clothing, jewelry, and personal effects. The next day when she returned, the doors of her automobile were unlocked and her baggage and her lady friend’s baggage were missing. On April 18, 1945, appellant was arrested as he and his girl friend alighted from an automobile across the street from 1637 South Essex Street, at which address they lived together in Boom No. 7. Most of the articles which were missing from the Seidman and Bosh automobiles were found in that room.

A police officer testified that he was one of the two arresting officers; that immediately after appellant was placed under arrest, the officers took him and the girl to Boom 7 at 1637 South Essex Street and told appellant to open the door to the room; that appellant said “I don’t know what you are talking about. This isn’t my room”; that the witness then went to the landlady’s apartment and had a conversation with her, after which he returned to Boom 7 and