People v. Carroll

• Decision Date: 01 May 1958
• Docket Number: Cr. 3453
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Gilbert R. CARROLL and Oscar E. Ault, Defendants and Appellants.

Page 713

324 P.2d 713

160 Cal.App.2d 6

The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Gilbert R. CARROLL and Oscar E. Ault, Defendants and Appellants.

Cr. 3453.

District Court of Appeal, First District, Division 1, California.

May 1, 1958.

Lawrence W. Welch, Jr., San Francisco, for appellants.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., Doris H. Maier, J. M. Sanderson, Deputy Attys. Gen., for respondent.

PETERS, Presiding Justice.

Carroll and Ault were charged with the grand theft of an automobile belonging to Mary Flores, with taking the vehicle without the consent of the owner, and with certain priors. They admitted the priors, but pleaded not guilty to the two charged offenses. They were found guilty of the grand theft charge and not guilty of taking the vehicle without the consent of the owner. From the judgment entered on this verdict they appeal.

The car was stolen in San Francisco between the hours of 6:30 p. m. on May 6, 1957, and 7:30 a. m. on May 7, 1957, from a lot adjoining the home of its owner, Mary Flores. The automobile was a 1953 Oldsmobile sedan with a California license. When parked, the ignition was locked, and the registration slip was on the steering post. The car was found in the possession of the two defendants at 3 a. m. on May 8, 1957, when they were stopped by an officer in the town of San Pablo. Carroll was driving. The officer noted that there was no registration certificate visible and that there was no key in the ignition. Carroll was asked for his driver's license but stated that he did not have one, and also told the officer that the car belonged to a cousin in Richmond. Ault corroborated Carroll. The officer issued Carroll a citation for failure to have a driver's license, and checked the license number by radio. He discovered that the license number then on the car was registered to a 1937 Chevrolet from Port Chicago. Carroll and Ault both told the officer that they had been in Port Chicago that night. The officer then inspected the car. He discovered that the ignition had been cross-wired, and that the registration slip for the Oldsmobile in the name of Mary Flores was in the glove compartment. The back seat of the car had been torn out and a tire iron was found on the front floor boards. The trunk was dented in such a fashion that it indicated someone had tried to pry it open. The officer questioned defendants about the cross-wiring of the ignition. Then both defendants admitted that they had lied about the car belonging to Carroll's Richmond cousin. They both stated that early on the evening of May 7, 1957, they were loaned the car by a man in a bar in San Francisco. Later in the day the two defendants were separately questioned about this story. Carroll stated that this unidentified man was a 6-foot blond in his early twenties. Ault described him as a heavily built little fellow with black hair. When confronted with these different descriptions defendants refused further to discuss the matter.

At the trial Carroll testified that he met Ault at about 3 p. m. on May 7, 1957, and that they finally landed in a bar on either 3rd or 5th Street in San Francisco sometime after 7 p. m. There they met a stranger whose first name was Floyd, last name unknown. He was between 5 1/2 and 6 feet tall, and his hair was darker than blond. They talked for awhile, and defendants told Floyd that they were going to borrow a car to drive to Port Chicago. Carroll testified that Floyd generously offered to lend them his car on their promise to bring it back by 2 p. m. of the next day. Carroll did not pay Floyd a deposit nor did he even give him his name and address. They told Floyd that they wanted to go to Port Chicago to see if Ault could find his children who were living there with his estranged wife.

Floyd brought the Oldsmobile to the bar. When Carroll commented on the fact that the ignition had been cross-wired Floyd explained that his wife, who drank to excess, had the key. Neither appellant noticed the condition of the back seat, saw the tire iron, nor did they observe the lack of a registration certificate. Carroll and Ault both denied having the conversation with the officer in which they described, differently, the man who loaned them the car.

Both defendants tried to account for their time during the hours in which the vehicle was stolen. Carroll testified that he was out alone walking a dog between 6:30 and 11 p. m. on May 6, 1957, and was home in bed thereafter until the next morning. Carroll's mother, stepfather and stepbrother testified that Carroll was home after 11 p. m. Ault testified that he was home entertaining some friends until nearly midnight on May 6, 1957, and then retired.

The appellants do not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. They contend that it was prejudicial to deny their request for a recess during the trial, and Ault contends that it was prejudicial error to deny his...