People v. Rojas, Cr. 7072
| Decision Date | 22 August 1960 |
| Docket Number | Cr. 7072 |
| Citation | 7 Cal.Rptr. 254 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Alexander Aragon ROJAS and Joe Hidalgo, Defendants and Appellants. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Alexander L. Oster, Laguna Beach, for appellants.
Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., and S. Clark Moore, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.
The court, sitting without a jury, convicted defendants Rojas and Hidalgo of having received stolen property in violation of Penal Code, § 496. Hidalgo's motion for a new trial was denied and he was sentenced to state prison. Rojas' motion for a new trial was denied and he was granted probation. They appeal from the judgments (in Rojas' case, the order granting probation), and from the orders denying new trials.
During the night of March 3, 1959 about $4,500 worth of electric conduit was stolen from John Taft Electric Company in Ventura. On March 4 Officer Lovold of the Los Angeles Police Department saw a man named Hall sitting in a car directly opposite a truck which was parked on the street. The body of the truck had a solid front, roof, and sides. There were two doors in the rear which, when open, disclosed it was loaded with electrical conduit. Lovold approached Hall and asked him what he was going to do with the merchandise in the truck. Hall said he intended to sell it to defendant Hidalgo; he (Hidalgo) would duy all electrical materials that he (Hall) could get; and he had had several transactions with him in the past. Hall was placed under arrest and taken to the police building. The truck was moved to the police parking lot.
Later that afternoon, Hall was asked to telephone to Hidalgo. Lovold listened to this conversation: Hall: 'Joe.' Hidalgo: 'Yes.' Hall: Hidalgo: Hall called back at 7 o'clock. Lovold listened to this conversation: Hall: 'Hello, Joe.' Hidalgo: 'Yes.' Hall: 'This is Bill, how about the material?' Hidalgo:
Lovold conveyed the information he had to Officer Saville. Saville and Hall drove the truck to the rear of a service station on the southwest corner of State and Marengo Streets in Los Angeles where they parked it and then walked about two blocks to a small electrical shop. They entered the shop. Hidalgo, who was talking on the telephone, held his index finger to his lips and pointed to the back room. After Hidalgo finished telephoning he asked Hall and Saville outside. The three went outside and Hall introduced Saville to Hidalgo as 'Rudy.' Hidalgo asked Hall where the other 'fellows' were. Hall said they were in San Bernardino 'casing a joint.' Hidalgo asked and was told where the truck was parked. He said the reason he did not want them 'to bring the truck to the shop was that his place was 'hot' and was being watched by the police.' He asked Saville and Hall to return to the truck and follow him. They returned to the truck and followed Hidalgo, who was in an automobile, mobile, over several streets. Hidalgo stopped, asked Saville and Hall to wait, and left. He returned in about 30 minutes, asked them to get in his car, and had Hall return the keys to the truck. Hall said the back of the truck was not locked. Hidalgo said the truck would not be there long, and it would be all right to put the keys into the ignition. Hidalgo then drove Saville and Hall to another location 'by way of several back streets.' On the way, Hidalgo told Hall he had just bought $3,500 'worth of stuff'; that was the reason he was short; the last time he 'got stuff from you guys' he paid Hall $1,460; he had to pay $100 to have it unloaded; he put $1,700 into the load and sold it for $2,000. Hall said 'this stuff was not 'hot"; it was from santa Barbara. Hidalgo said, ; whom Hall split with was his (Hall's) business; in the future he preferred doing business with Hall alone, not to come to the office, to call him, he would instruct him (Hall) 'where to leave the truck and where he could pick it up later.' Hidalgo gave Hall $200 and told him to call him the next day at noon and he would tell him where to get the truck and he could get the balance of $500.
Officers Lovold and Bischonden followed the truck from Hidalgo's shop. After Hidalgo, Saville, and Hall had left the truck, defendant Rojas got in and drove it by a roundabout route to a parking area in the rear of a service station which was Rojas' place of business. Rojas got out of the truck, opened the rear end, looked, inside, and left. Later that night Hidalgo and Rojas went to the rear of the truck, opened it, looked at the conduits, closed it, and went across the street to a cafe.
The next morning about 8 o'clock Rojas opened his...
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