People v. Williams

Appellant was convicted of the crime of burglary in the second degree. He appeals from the judgment of conviction.

At approximately 1 a. m. on January 22, 1954, a Modesto city police officer observed that a window had been broken in a Modesto market. The officer stopped his car and investigated. The lock on the rear door of the store had been broken and a Chevrolet club coupé was parked near the door. It was loaded with boxes containing merchandise taken from the store. A box of goods was sitting on the ground at the side of the car; and two boxes had been filled and were sitting in the back room of the store. A box of gloves had been tipped over and was lying on the floor of the store. Approximately 100 pennies had been taken from the cash register.

There was no registration slip in the car, but a sales slip showed that the car had been purchased by “Willie Balestreri,’ 1005 M Street, Modesto.

A stake-out was placed in an alley where an officer could keep the residence at that address under surveillance. At approximately 3 .-30 a. m. the officer noticed a man in light clothing walking down the alley toward the M Street residence. Car headlights appeared and the man ducked…