People v. Lyles

Decision Date31 December 1957
Docket NumberCr. 6023
Citation319 P.2d 745,156 Cal.App.2d 482
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeals
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Alfred LYLES, Defendant and Appellant.

Matthews & Hill, Edward I. Gritz, Los Angeles, for appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., Elizabeth Miller, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.

WHITE, Presiding Justice.

The District Attorney of Los Angeles County filed an information wherein defendant was accused of the crime of burglary (Penal Code, Section 459), in that he entered an occupied building with the intent to commit theft. Four prior felony convictions were alleged, including two for burglary, one for attempted burglary, and one for violation of the Deadly Weapons Act, Pen.Code, § 467. Defendant pleaded not guilty and denied the prior convictions. Trial by jury was duly waived and it was stipulated that the People's case in chief be submitted on the transcript of the preliminary examination, subject to the right of either side to produce additional evidence at the trial. The court found defendant guilty of attempted burglary, second degree. No finding was made as to the prior convictions. Motion for a new trial was denied and defendant was sentenced to state prison. From the judgment of conviction and the order denying his motion for a new trial, defendant prosecutes this appeal.

We regard the following as a fair epitome of the factual background surrounding this prosecution. Seraphan Garcia owned a hamburger stand located in Los Angeles County. At about 5:00 p. m. in the evening of February 2, 1957, Mr. Garcia closed his place of business. By means of a padlock he locked an outside door which opened into a restroom. Although the restroom, which had four walls and a roof, was attached to the rear of the hamburger stand, the only door to the restroom opened from the outside, and there was no door or other ordinary means of entrance from the restroom directly into the cafe.

At approximately 4:05 a. m. on the morning of February 3, 1957, as Officer James Bennett of the Los Angeles Police Department was driving past the aforesaid hamburger stand, he saw a person move from the corner of the building around to the rear. Officer Bennett stopped his car and went to investigate. As he went around the corner of the building, he observed a screwdriver wedged down to its handle in the top of a door leading into the building. When he arrived at the rear of the building, the officer noticed that the restroom door was ajar. The hasp was bent and the padlock was hanging open on the hasp. Officer Bennett saw defendant standing facing the door immediately inside the restroom. There was a light inside the restroom, but it was not turned on. The defendant was wearing gloves. Officer Bennett drew his revolver and ordered defendant to raise his hands and come out. The latter immediately dropped a folded paper bag. As the officer was preparing to place handcuffs on defendant, the latter quickly removed his gloves and threw them down.

After making the arrest, Officer Bennett returned to the place where the screwdriver was located in the door. He noted that the door and building seemed to have been recently painted, but the paint was chipped in six spots on the door and six spots on the building, and there were small chips of paint at the foot of the door. There was no rust over the marks where the paint was missing.

The paper bag which defendant dropped had a hole in the lower part thereof.

Sworn as a witness in his own behalf, defendant testified that at no time did he attempt to enter the hanburger stand. With reference to his presence on the premises on the night in question, defendant testified: 'I was coming from Adams Street, sir. At that time of night I had gone over to see a lady friend of mine. I often come along there. I live downtown in a hotel and I often come along in the evening or late at night and so on. Then I do restaurant work myself sometimes in that vicinity along there and I come along there.' That he required the use of a restroom. Knowing that this restroom was located behind the hamburger stand he decided to use it. That he had used this restroom on previous occasions. That he found it unlocked and proceeded to avail himself of its facilities. Defendant denied he was wearing gloves, 'I had them in my hands because I had taken them out of my pocket to get the paper'. In answer to a question, 'Your clothes were all buttoned when the police came up?', defendant answered, 'I was just buttoning my clothes, yes, buttoning my clothes'. He denied any knowledge of the screwdriver which was wedged in the door. With regard to the paper which he had in his hand when apprehended, defendant testified: 'I was using the paper. I rolled that paper myself to soften it'. On cross-examination defendant admitted that he had been convicted of burglary in 1935, of violation of the Deadly Weapons Act in 1936, of burglary in 1940, and of attempted burglary in 1950. He did not recall any other felonies.

Appellant's sole contention on this appeal is that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction.

It is conceded that the elements necessary for the crime of attempt are, as stated in People v. Miller, 2 Cal.2d 527, 530, 42 P.2d 308, 309, 98 A.L.R. 913, as follows: 'Where the crime remains unfinished and the defendant is charged with attempt, two important elements are essential: A specific intent to commit the crime (People v. Mize, 80 Cal. 41, 22 P. 80), and a direct ineffectual act done towards its commission. (Citing cases.) Mere intention to commit a specified crime does not amount to an attempt. (People v. Stites, supra [75 Cal. 570, 17 P. 693].) Preparation alone is not sufficient. 'Something more is required than mere menaces, preparation or planning.' 30 Cor.Jur. 13. 'The preparation consists in devising or arranging the means or measures necessary for the commission of the offense; the attempt is the direct movement towards the commission after the preparations are made. * * * Therefore, the act must reach far enough towards the accomplishment of the desired result to amount to the commencement of the consummation.' 8 R.C.L., pp. 278, 279.' (Emphasis included.) See also People v. Siu, 126 Cal.App.2d 41, 43, 271 P.2d 575.

Therefore, in the case now engaging our attention the test to be applied is whether there is substantial evidence to support a finding...

To continue reading

Request your trial
36 cases
  • People v. Memro
    • United States
    • California Supreme Court
    • June 6, 1985
    ...that end after the preparations are made." (People v. Fulton (1961) 188 Cal.App.2d 105, 116, 10 Cal.Rptr. 319; see People v. Lyles (1957) 156 Cal.App.2d 482, 319 P.2d 745; People v. Gibson (1949) 94 Cal.App.2d 468, 210 P.2d Some Courts of Appeal have suggested focusing on the accused's inte......
  • People v. Pitts
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • September 5, 1990
    ...proof and must usually be inferred from a consideration of all the facts and circumstances shown by the evidence. (People v. Lyles (1957) 156 Cal.App.2d 482, 486, 319 P.2d 745.) A jury can conclude that defendant had the requisite intent from the Page 919 surrounding the incident in questio......
  • People v. Lopez
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • August 18, 2015
    ...disclosed by the evidence.’ ( People v. Kuykendall (1955) 134 Cal.App.2d 642, 645 [285 P.2d 996] ; see also People v. Lyles (1957) 156 Cal.App.2d 482, 486 [319 P.2d 745].)" ( Falck, supra, 52 Cal.App.4th at p. 299, 60 Cal.Rptr.2d 624.) Appellant not only ignored Rizzo's increasingly impassi......
  • People v. Falck
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • January 27, 1997
    ...disclosed by the evidence." (People v. Kuykendall (1955) 134 Cal.App.2d 642, 645, 285 P.2d 996; see also People v. Lyles (1957) 156 Cal.App.2d 482, 486, 319 P.2d 745.) Here, it can be inferred that appellant intended to cause fear in the victim from the fact that he insisted on maintaining ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT