State v. Polson

339 P.2d 510, 81 Idaho 147, 1959 Ida. LEXIS 202
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedApril 22, 1959
Docket8589
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 339 P.2d 510 (State v. Polson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Polson, 339 P.2d 510, 81 Idaho 147, 1959 Ida. LEXIS 202 (Idaho 1959).

Opinion

SMITH, Justice.

The information charges appellants with the crime of second degree burglary committed on or about January 22, 1957, in Twin Falls County by daytime burglarious entry of Wilson-Bates Appliance Company store in Buhl.

Appellants stood trial and the jury found them guilty as charged. They have appealed from the judgment of conviction; also from the order denying their motion to suppress evidence and from the order denying their motion for a new trial.

The evidence fairly reflects the facts hereinafter set forth.

January 22, 1957, the sheriff’s office in Twin Falls County received information relative to a movie projector allegedly stolen from a certain dealer in Buhl in said county. This dealer waited upon one of appellants but did not sell them a projector. After they left his store, he followed them out *151 and looked into their automobile. He did not see the projector. The Twin Falls County officers transmitted information relative to this taking, to the King Hill Port of Entry station and the officer there in charge relayed it to the police officers of Glenns Ferry.

Between 7:15 and 7:30 P.M., that evening, Chief of Police Taylor, of Glenns Ferry, and Deputy Sheriff Ross of Elmore County, apprehended appellants riding in a Ford automobile, driven by appellant Poison, on U. S. Highway 30 near Glenns Ferry.

The officers informed appellants that the purpose of stopping them was to ascertain if they had a movie projector. Officer Ross asked permission to look into the car but appellant Poison refused a search without a search warrant. Appellants then consented to return to King Hill Port of Entry some 8 miles easterly from Glenns Ferry.

At King Hill the officers ascertained that the automobile operated by appellants was registered in the name of appellant Johnson in the State of Idaho, though State of Montana license plates were on the car.

The officers, at King Hill, conversed by telephone with the sheriff’s office in Twin Falls County and discussed the matter of obtaining a search warrant; thereupon both appellants consented to a search of the automobile. Appellant Poison opened the door of the automobile, took out suitcases and other “stuff”, and aided the officers in looking through the car. They did not find the movie projector. Officer Taylor then testified:

“A. There was quite a number of electrical appliances, electric drills, coffee maker, toaster, tea maker and portable radio. * * * We listed those articles in there for our protection.”

Deputy Sheriff Pryor, of Twin Falls County, returned appellants from King Hill to Twin Falls about 11:00 P.M., the evening of January 22nd, placing them under arrest on suspicion of burglary. Sheriff Benham, of Twin Falls County, stated: “The officers * * * had been notified they were suspected of stealing a movie projector out of a store at Buhl, and that is what they were picked up on and brought to Twin Falls for.” He told appellants that night, “I was going to hold them on this deal at Buhl, this stuff taken out of a store down there that they were accused of taking.” He indicated to appellants that night, “I would have the night man watch the car and the next morning take all the stuff out of the car, and they agreed to that, both of them.”

“Q. Did Mr. Poison agree to that?
A. He agreed that was all right.
“Q. Did Miss Johnson agree to that? A. Yes.”

*152 Appellants continued in the custody of the sheriff.

The next morning the sheriff’s office received information from Chief of Police Kendrick of Buhl that a portable Philco radio had been taken the day before from Wilson-Bates Appliance store in Buhl. After receiving that information the officers, upon investigating the contents of appellants’ automobile, and the various electrical appliances of some twelve in number, found and identified the referred-to radio. The alleged felonious taking of this radio furnished the basis of the charge against appellants and their conviction.

Appellants assert error of the trial court in refusing their motion to suppress evidence, viz., the electric appliances taken from their automobile. They maintain that they were not legally arrested, therefore no right of search without search warrant attained.

The facts show that the law enforcement officers of Glenns Ferry, based upon information of the alleged burglarious taking of the movie projector, stopped appellants’ automobile, and apprehended appellants, which resulted in their being remitted to the custody of the sheriff of Twin Falls County.

I.C. § 19-603 reads in part:

“A peace officer may make an arrest in obedience to a warrant delivered to him, or may, without a warrant, arrest a person:
“1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.
“2. When a person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence.
“3. When a felony has in fact been committed and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.
“4. On a charge made, upon a reasonable cause, of the commission of a felony by the party arrested.”

The arresting officers had sufficient facts within their knowledge to make the arrest. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327; People v. Duroncelay, 48 Cal.2d 766, 312 P.2d 690. The officers arrested appellants on the charge of the Twin Falls County officers upon reasonable cause, of the commission of a felony by the parties arrested. Draper v. United States, supra.

Generally, an officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person whom he has probable cause to believe guilty of a felony. 6 C.J.S. Arrest § 6 b(2), p. 587. “Probable cause must, in this connection, mean reasonable ground of presumption that the charge is, or may be, well founded ; * * Wood v. United States, *153 16 Pet. 342, 41 U.S. 342, at page 366, 10 L. Ed. 987, 996

Reasonable cause to believe that an accused has committed a felony is a test •of the arresting officer’s right to arrest. I. ■C. § 19-603; Helgeson v. Powell, 54 Idaho 667, 34 P.2d 957.

The definition of “reasonable •cause” is the possession of such information as would lead a man of ordinary care and prudence to believe or entertain honest and strong suspicion that a felony had been committed by appellant. State v. Autheman, 47 Idaho 328, 274 P. 805, 62 A.L.R. 195; Helgeson v. Powell, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
339 P.2d 510, 81 Idaho 147, 1959 Ida. LEXIS 202, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-polson-idaho-1959.