People v. Guarino

282 P.2d 538, 132 Cal. App. 2d 554, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2227
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 27, 1955
DocketCrim. 5266
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 282 P.2d 538 (People v. Guarino) 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. Guarino, 282 P.2d 538, 132 Cal. App. 2d 554, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2227 (Cal. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

SHINN, P. J.

Luke Patrick Guarino appeals from convictions of grand theft and burglary and from an order denying his motion for a new trial. He was accused of having suffered three prior convictions, which he admitted.

It was alleged in the information that on or about December 5, 1953, defendant unlawfully and feloniously entered a shop in the store of I. Magnin and took about $15,000 worth of jewelry from two showcases. Defendant was arrested on the evening of January 11, 1954, in the Mitchell Hotel, located in Los Angeles, and was booked at the Wilshire Police Station at about 4 a. m., January 12,1954. His bail was fixed prior to the time he was arraigned before a magistrate on January 19, 1954.

The jewelry was taken from the cases of Laykin & Company, ' jewelers, on the main floor of the store. On December 5th at 6 :30 p. m., Mr. Laykin, the owner, checked his three showcases and found them to be locked. Pie was the last one in his department to leave the building. On the following Monday morning, it was discovered that the showcases had been broken open. A gold ring was found on the bottom landing of the fire escape. This ring was identified by a tag as having come from the jewelry showcases. An inventory of the missing items was made and they were found to be of the value of $15,000.

According to officers’ testimony, defendant Guarino was arrested on January 11, 1954, about 10:30 p. m. in his hotel, and was taken to his room for about 10 minutes and searched. At the time of the arrest a woman’s diamond wristwatch was found in defendant’s coat pocket, wrapped in a piece of tissue paper. It was subsequently identified by the serial number of the watch movement and the case as having come from Laykin’s. Defendant also had about $1,200 in large bills in his possession. He gave a gold key watch and key holder to a *556 friend, Shirley Johnson, shortly before Christmas, which she gave to the police and which were subsequently identified by Mr. Laykin by the watch movement number as having come from his store. Alice Eienhart, a salesgirl for Laykin, testified she waited on defendant on December 4th, shortly prior to the theft, and that she remembered his mannerisms, nervousness and speech, and noted a scar on his forehead. Mr. Bugel, the store night watchman, saw a man at about 7:10 p. m., December 5, 1953, standing on the porte coehere of the roof 8 or 9 feet away from him. The witness asked him what he was doing on the roof and the man answered “just investigating.” He then fled. The witness later at the police station identified the voice of the defendant as the voice he had heard from a group of several men. He also identified the blue topcoat he had on.

Officer Carey testified that while enroute to the Hall of Justice for arraignment, defendant had stated, “. . . this is the kind of day I like to hit residences ... all the cops are holed up drinking coffee ...” and that defendant had said he was “. . . a master burglar”; that he had gambled and lost, but that he planned to get a woman jury and have them in the palm of his hand at the trial, and ‘ ‘ Tell all your friends, and tell the newspapers . . . because I am going to put on a big show for you.” Officers testified that at the time of the arrest defendant was questioned as to whether there was any more jewelry in his room and stated, “There is no use looking any further. There is no more jewelry in this room. . . . What are you worrying about more jewelry for? You have got the piece. That is enough.” They further testified that at 11:30 p. m. the same evening, defendant was taken to the detectives’ room of the Wilshire Police Station for further questioning. At about 2 a. m. he was taken to be booked, but when observed to be limping was taken to a receiving hospital where the examining physician advised him to obtain an elastic bandage and gave no other treatment. Defendant was booked at 4 a. m. January 12th.

Defendant testified he was abused while being questioned by the officers; the officers extended his legs until they rested on another chair and then sat on them three or four times with each incident lasting 15 to 20 minutes, which caused him to limp; that one of the officers hit him with a “judo smack” on the back of his neck and one of the officers knocked him to the floor in his hotel room before he was taken to the station. He claimed Officer O’Mara hit him on the chest sev *557 eral times with his fist and another officer slapped him on the side of the face. The officers categorically denied these abuses. Defendant testified that the officers would not let him call his attorney or see an attorney for five days; that he was unable to make a telephone call or send a telegram during this period and that he was not taken before a magistrate until seven days after arrest, when bail was set. Although he had possession of stolen articles he claimed to have purchased them.

On appeal defendant claims he was prejudiced by the refusal of the arresting officers to permit him to obtain counsel ; that he was illegally detained for seven days before being taken before a magistrate as required by law (Pen. Code, § 825), and that error was committed in the admission of certain prejudicial statements of his among which was one to the effect he was “. . . a master burglar.” A further assignment of error is that a conviction of burglary and grand theft cannot be sustained since it would be a double punishment for one act or transaction in violation of section 654 of the Penal Code.

Appellant’s first ground of appeal is that he was prejudiced by refusal of the officers to allow him to obtain counsel. He testified that he asked leave to call his attorney, but that he was refused permission. He testified that he was unable to see counsel for at least five days. Seven days elapsed before he was brought before a magistrate after his arrest. He claimed that one Johnny Gungus and one Mono Tepoes perpetrated the crime and that he wished to obtain counsel in order to locate such persons. At the arraignment and at all times during the trial defendant had competent counsel.

The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and article I, section 13, California Constitution, have been interpreted to guarantee the defendant the right to be represented by counsel in every stage of the proceedings; deprivation of this guarantee may be a violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (14 Cal.Jur.2d 382, 383.) Section 825 of the Penal Code also provides that at any time after arrest any attorney may, at the request of the accused or his relatives, visit the prisoner. However, in order to constitute deprivation of due process the denial of the right must have so fatally infected the regularity of the appellant’s trial and his conviction as to violate the fundamental aspects of fairness and result in *558 a miscarriage of justice. (Lisenba v. California, 314 U.S. 219, 236 [62 S.Ct. 280, 86 L.Ed. 166].) In the Lisenba case, the court stated: “As applied to a criminal trial, denial of due process is the failure to observe that fundamental fairness essential to the very concept of justice.

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Bluebook (online)
282 P.2d 538, 132 Cal. App. 2d 554, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-guarino-calctapp-1955.