People v. Crawford

253 Cal. App. 2d 524, 61 Cal. Rptr. 472, 1967 Cal. App. LEXIS 2374
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 14, 1967
DocketCrim. 234
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 253 Cal. App. 2d 524 (People v. Crawford) 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. Crawford, 253 Cal. App. 2d 524, 61 Cal. Rptr. 472, 1967 Cal. App. LEXIS 2374 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

*527 GARGANO, J.

Appellant, after jury trial, was found guilty of robbery in the first degree in violation of section 211 and 211a of the Penal Code. Appellant was also charged with three prior convictions which he admitted. The trial judge denied his application for probation, and appellant was sentenced to the state prison for the term prescribed by law. This appeal followed.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on July 8, 1965, two men (both Negroes) entered Kaundart’s Market, a small grocery store located in Fresno County. At the time proprietors Ernest Kaundart and his wife were inside the store, and Mr. Kaundart was assisting some children at the end of the counter. One of the two men was carrying a gun which appeared to be a “sawed off rifle.” The man with the gun (later identified by Kaundart as Johnny Carter) ordered Kaundart to “empty the till” and to “put it on the counter.” The other man (whom Kaundart could not later identify) stood by while the robbery was perpetrated. The two men then took the money and went out of the store. After the two robbers had left the store Kaundart called the sheriff, and when the call was completed he and the others also left the store. Outside they saw a green 1959 Pontiac occupied by three Negroes come around the corner, apparently from the direction in which the robbers had fled, and drive away. The police arrived in approximately 20 minutes and during the course of the investigation took plaster casts of tire tracks left on the street in front of the store by a 1959 green Pontiac automobile.

Shortly before the robbery Levy Harris, who was sitting in a picnic area near the market eating his lunch, observed a green 1959 Pontiac occupied by three Negroes drive up and park in front of the store. He saw appellant, who was driving the car, get out and then get back into the car and turn it around so that it was facing south. Appellant then got out of the car a second time and walked toward the Kaundart store. The motor remained running at all times. In the meantime one of the other occupants also got out of the car and walked toward the store. The second man turned around, walked back to the automobile and then again proceeded back toward the store, this time with a “rifle” partially concealed under his coat. Both men then entered the store.

Appellant was arrested on the evening of July 8, 1966, at approximately 8 p.m. At the time of his arrest he was driving a green 1959 Pontiac automobile which matched the description of the automobile used in the robbery earlier that day. *528 After the arrest the automobile was taken to the police garage where it was subsequently discovered that it belonged to Robert Mason who had loaned it to appellant on July 5, 1965. It was also subsequently discovered that its tire marks matched the tire marks of the automobile which had been used in the robbery. On July 17, 1.965, Mr. Mason was taken to the storage garage where the automobile was impounded. In the presence of a deputy sheriff, Mason then entered the car trunk through the back seat where be found a shotgun with the barrel sawed off. This weapon did not belong to Mason.

Appellant’s first contention is that his arrest was illegal because at the time of the arrest the arresting officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that he had committed a felony. He apparently asserts that we should reverse the judgment of conviction for this if for no other reason. However, from the facts recited it is obvious that this contention is entirely without merit. Moreover, appellant raised no objection at the trial to the legality of his arrest, and he is therefore precluded from raising the issue for the first time on appeal (People v. Rivera, 202 Cal.App.2d 839 [21 Cal.Rptr. 182]). In any event, there is no indication that incriminating statements were taken or other incriminating evidence was abduced as a result of the arrest. 1 Thus, at best appellant is complaining of an unlawful arrest which occurred after the crime had been committed. It is the rule that a person does not gain immunity from punishment for an offense for which he was unlawfully arrested (People v. Gaines, 247 Cal. App.2d 141 [55 Cal.Rptr. 283]).

Appellant next contends that he was deprived of effective counsel at the preliminary hearing and at the arraignment. Specifically, he claims that his counsel did not see fit to present two crucial defenses at the preliminary hearing. This contention is also without merit. It is generally agreed that it is not good strategy to present a defense at a preliminary hearing because the prosecution is only required to show probable cause in order to bind a defendant over for trial. Moreover, no prejudice could have resulted to appellant by his counsel’s failure to present a defense at the preliminary hearing. It is manifest that the prosecution had sufficient evidence to establish probable cause in order to bind appellant over for trial, and appellant had full opportunity to present his defenses during the trial.

*529 Appellant’s remaining contentions are that there is insufficient evidence to justify the verdict, and that during the trial errors at law occurred which prejudiced the appellant and resulted in a miscarriage of justice. These alleged errors include the following: (1) the court erroneously refused and failed to give certain instructions to the jury, (2) the court erred in its interpretation of the instructions relating to an accomplice, (3) the court erroneously excluded evidence which should have been presented to the jury, (4) the prosecuting attorney was guilty of prejudicial misconduct, and (5) the court erred in modifying the verdict from a lesser to a higher degree of the crime charged. We shall consider first the alleged errors.

(1) In asserting that the trial judge erroneously refused to give certain instructions to the jury, appellant has reference to the refusal to give the standard jury instruction on circumstantial evidence (CALJIC Nos. 26, 27 and 28). The main thrust of his argument is that Kaundart, the victim of the robbery, did not (and apparently could not) identify appellant as one of the men who robbed him. In other words, the identity of appellant was made by Levy Harris who did not witness the robbery itself and from this appellant concludes that there was no direct evidence connecting him with the crime.

It is of course the rule that where the prosecution relies in whole or in substantial part upon circumstantial evidence to prove its case the court should give instructions on circumstantial evidence, particularly when requested to do so by the defendant as was true in this case (People v. Pedesclaux, 156 Cal.App.2d 174 [319 P.2d 93]). It is also the rule, however, that where the prosecution relies primarily on direct evidence, and where the circumstantial evidence is only incidental and corroborative, the instructions requested by appellant are not required (People v. Downer, 57 Cal.2d 800 [22 Cal.Rptr. 347, 372 P.2d 107]; People v. Malbrough, 55 Cal.2d 249 [10 Cal.Rptr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
253 Cal. App. 2d 524, 61 Cal. Rptr. 472, 1967 Cal. App. LEXIS 2374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-crawford-calctapp-1967.