People v. Tucker

HERNDON, J. Defendant appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial which resulted in his conviction of the crimes of attempted burglary and violation of section 10851, Vehicle Code (felonious taking of a motor vehicle) .

The evidence supporting the judgment may be summarized as follows: Appellant was positively identified as the man seen attempting to break into a market in the City of Los Angeles. He was apprehended shortly after this attempt had been interrupted. He was discovered hiding on the floor of a stolen vehicle. The owner of this vehicle testified that the tools which were found therein were not his and were not in the car when he had last seen it only a few hours earlier. Appellant admitted a prior conviction of burglary.

By way of defense, appellant testified that he had been drinking on the night in question and that he had gotten into the ear because, in his “drunken state,” he did not feel he “could make it much further.” He denied ownership of the burglar’s tools and denied that he had attempted to rob the market.

One of the arresting officers, however, testified that the vehicle had been “hot wired” and that the engine was still warm when appellant was apprehended. The officer stated that appellant told him at the scene that the ear was not his but that he had become frightened when he “saw some police cars in the area,” that he wanted “to find a place to hide” because he “knew he had warrants out for his arrest.” At first he denied that the tools in the car were his. Shortly thereafter, however, he admitted that the tools were his and stated that he had borrowed the ear from a friend. All these statements were freely and voluntarily made.

[586]Later appellant was interrogated by detectives at the police station, and, after first denying the crimes, he admitted them, stating that the reason for his initial denial was that he was afraid he would be killed if sent to the penitentiary, These officers also testified that appellant freely and voluntarily, without having been subjected to any force or threat of force, and having been given no promise of leniency or immunity, wrote and signed the following confession:

“I took the car in the area of 90th and Samora; I hot-wired it and then I drove around for a while; I didn’t know what time it was; I looked in the car and found some tools in it and parked by the market and went through the alley and over the fence to the market. Then I knocked a hole in the outside plaster. If I would have had the proper tools to succeed in getting in I was seeking money. I climbed over the fence and went back to the car where I was caught. I took the car only to use for a while. I was alone. ’ ’