People v. Bozigian

270 Cal. App. 2d 373, 75 Cal. Rptr. 876, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1535
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 5, 1969
DocketCrim. 14925
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 270 Cal. App. 2d 373 (People v. Bozigian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Bozigian, 270 Cal. App. 2d 373, 75 Cal. Rptr. 876, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1535 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

LILLIE, J.

Defendant was convicted of second degree burglary (§ 459, Pen. Code). The court below found to be true three alleged prior felony convictions—second degree burglary (1949), grand theft (1949) and second degree burglary (April 1966)—but ordered stricken the first two. Defendant was sentenced to the state prison for the term prescribed by law. Thereafter on the third prior—burglary (April 1966)— probation was revoked and defendant was sentenced to one year in the county jail said term to run concurrently with the state prison sentence. Defendant appeals from the judgment imposed on the third prior (No. 320584), judgment in the main case (No. A-401-793) and all orders, specifically order denying motion for new trial. The appeal from the orders is dismissed.

Around 3 a.m. on March 30, 1967, Deputies Zabuska and McMahon, responding to a burglary call, proceeded to Tucker Television Store on Atlantic Boulevard; Deputy Zabuska drove to the west side of Atlantic and stopped approximately 20 feet south of the store at the west curb-; when Deputy McMahon alighted from the vehicle Deputy Zabuska saw defendant inside the television store with a box under his arm; the store was well lighted and from his vantage point approximately 20 feet away the deputy could clearly observe defendant’s features and that he was wearing a brown sports *376 jacket; defendant looked in the direction of the radio unit and started toward the rear of the store disappearing from Deputy Zabuska’s sight; the sliding steel type screen at the front of the store was open and the front glass door was broken and the glass shattered. When defendant started toward the rear of the store, Deputy Zabuska immediately drove around to the rear where he observed an open door and three or four television sets piled up just inside the doorway; it had started to rain and the deputy moved the sets back inside the building, then climbed to the top of a 5' to 6' wooden fence running in an east-west direction adjacent to the south side of the building and saw defendant leap over the fence and run east on Atlantic; Deputy Zabuska yelled to Deputy McMahon at the front of the store, 11 There he goes ’ ’; Deputy McMahon saw defendant, who had come from the south side of the store, run across Atlantic in an easterly direction away from the store. Deputy McMahon gave chase but deputies in another unit who had approached northbound on Atlantic apprehended defendant. Deputy McMahon had kept defendant in his view continuously from the time he saw him at the south of the store until he was apprehended; immediately Deputy Zabuska identified defendant, who was seated in the radio unit, as the man he saw in the television store minutes before; also defendant was wearing the same brown sports jacket.

Henry Bischoff, manager, Tucker Television Store, returned to the store at 9 :30 a.m.; the plate glass portion of the front door was broken and three of the five locks on the sliding steel grate door were broken off; the front door lock had also been jimmied and there was glass all over the floor; four television sets were missing.

Defendant testified he had been at a bar until 2 a.m. when a friend took him home; finding nothing to eat he left for a nearby hot dog stand; walking to Atlantic he stopped at a Shell station to use the restroom which was occupied, then went into an alley where he heard the screeching wheels of a turning vehicle; he started to run and was apprehended; he did not break into any store and take any television sets.

Appellant’s first contention that the evidence is not sufficient to support the judgment is based on a lengthy factual argument wherein he quotes certain out-of-context portions of Deputy Zabuska’s testimony to point up the weakness of his identification. Such argument should be directed to the trier of fact, not to a reviewing court. The weakness of appel *377 lant’s position that the identification evidence raises only a suspicion of guilt which is not sufficient to support a conviction, lies in his implied request that we reweigh and reinterpret the evidence in a manner consistent with his innocence of the crime. “But such a determination is the function of the trier of fact; at this stage the test is not whether the evidence may be reconciled with innocence, but whether there is substantial evidence in the record on appeal to warrant the inference of guilt drawn by the trier below. (People v. Hillery (1965) 62 Cal.2d 692, 702-703 [44 Cal.Rptr. 30, 401 P.2d 382], and cases cited.)” (People v. Saterfield, 65 Cal.2d 752, 759 [56 Cal.Rptr. 338, 423 P.2d 266].)

When a judgment is attacked on the ground that the evidence is insufficient to support it, we must view the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party prevailing in the trial court. (People v. Newland, 15 Cal.2d 678, 681 [104 P.2d 778]; People v. Sweeney, 55 Cal.2d 27, 33 [9 Cal.Rptr. 793, 357 P.2d 1049].) Deputy Zabuska testified he was approximately 20 feet south of the store at the west curb when he observed defendant inside the Tucker Television Store with a box under his arm; the store was well lighted inside and he could clearly observe defendant’s features and that he was wearing a brown sports jacket; when defendant saw the radio unit and started for the rear of the store, he (Deputy Zabuska) drove around to the rear and climbed to the top of a six-foot fence; he saw defendant leap over the fence and head east onto Atlantic; he constantly kept defendant in his sight as did Deputy McMahon until he was apprehended; he immediately identified defendant who was seated in the radio unit as the one he had seen in the store only minutes before; defendant was still wearing the same brown jacket. While Deputy Zabuska testified he could clearly observe defendant’s features but could not describe isolated facial features or recall whether defendant had a mustache, there is nothing improbable or incredible about his testimony.

Identity is a question of fact for the trial court and unless identification testimony can be construed as inherently improbable or incredible as a matter of law its finding will not be disturbed, and this court will not substitute its judgment for that of the court below. (People v. Smith, 223 Cal.App.2d 388, 393 [35 Cal.Rptr. 731]; People v. Daniels, 223 Cal.App.2d 441, 443 [35 Cal.Rptr. 890]; People v. Wiest, 205 Cal.App.2d 43, 45-46 [22 Cal.Rptr. 846]; People v. Hornes, 168 Cal. *378 App.2d 314, 319 [335 P.2d 756].) Any claimed weakness in the evidence of identification is a matter for argument to the trial court and cannot be effectively urged on appeal.' (People v. Williams, 53 Cal.2d 299, 303 [1 Cal.Rptr. 321, 347 P.2d 665

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Bluebook (online)
270 Cal. App. 2d 373, 75 Cal. Rptr. 876, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bozigian-calctapp-1969.