Boothe

*688 Opinion

A jury convicted defendant of first degree robbeiy (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 21 la.) He appeals from the judgment.

On the evening of October 17, 1975, defendant went with his wife and her children to the El Paso Cafe in downtown Sacramento. Between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.. defendant left the cafe by himself after telling his wife that he was going to the Gold Nugget, a nearby cardroom. The Blue Ribbon Cafe is located in the same area. At approximately midnight, the bartender at the Blue Ribbon was robbed at knifepoint by a customer who had entered the premises an hour before. At trial, the bartender identified defendant as the robber. He was also identified by the Blue Ribbon manager, who arrived while the robbery was in progress and encountered defendant as defendant was leaving the premises.

Defendant testified in his own behalf that he departed from the Blue Ribbon prior to the robbeiy and returned to the El Paso Cafe after stopping at the Gold Nugget and the nearby apartment of a female acquaintance.

I

After the People rested their case-in-chief, defendant made a motion to preclude the prosecutor from using a 1969 California conviction of first degree robbeiy for…

I concur in affirming the judgment but disagree with that portion of the majority opinion which concludes that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting impeachment of defendant by the use of a prior conviction.

Defendant’s contention is grounded upon People v. Beagle (1972) 6 Cal.3d 441 [ 99 Cal.Rptr. 313 , 492 P.2d 1 ]. The apparent rationale of my majority brethren’s opinion is that because “[t]here thus was available to the People for impeachment purposes no prior other than the [similar] one in 1969,” the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it permitted defendant to be impeached with the 1969 robbery prior.

The majority’s rationale posits a broad-brush admissibility for impeachment purposes of a nonremote prior similar to the current alleged offense so long as the prior is the only one available to the People for impeachment purposes. In this regard, the majority’s carte blanche *693 approach flies in the face of Beagle’s admonition that those prior convictions which are for the same type crime as that currently alleged should be admitted sparingly because of their unduly prejudicial effect. ( 6 Cal.3d at p. 453 .) The observation in Beagle that,…

A jury convicted defendant of first degree robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 211a.) He appeals from the judgment.

On the evening of October 17, 1975, defendant went with his wife and her children to the El Paso Cafe in downtown Sacramento. Between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., defendant left the cafe by himself after telling his wife that he was going to the Gold Nugget, a nearby cardroom. The Blue Ribbon Cafe is located in the same area. At approximately midnight, the bartender at the Blue Ribbon was robbed at knifepoint by a customer who had entered the premises an hour before. At trial, the bartender identified defendant as the robber. He was also identified by the Blue Ribbon manager, who arrived while the robbery was in progress and encountered defendant as defendant was leaving the premises.

Defendant testified in his own behalf that he departed from the Blue Ribbon prior to the robbery and returned to the El Paso Cafe after stopping at the Gold Nugget and the nearby apartment of a female acquaintance.

After the People rested their case-in-chief, defendant made a motion to preclude the prosecutor from using a 1969 California conviction of first degree robbery for…