Westoby

A jury found defendant Westoby guilty of violating Penal Code section 12303.2, in that he did “recklessly or maliciously have in his possession a destructive device and explosive on a public street and highway, and near a private habitation, and in a public place ordinarily passed by_human beings.” The jury had found him not guilty of the lesser and included offense proscribed by Health jindSafety Code section 12305 under which it was charged that he “did unlawfully and knowingly possess an explosive.”

I. Westoby first contends that the judgment must be reversed, and a new trial granted, “because there was insufficient evidence from which to conclude that defendant possessed a destructive device in a reckless or malicious manner. ” (Italics added.)

Substantial evidence (see People v. Redmond, 71 Cal.2d 745, 755 [ 79 Cal.Rptr. 529 , 457 P.2d 321 ]) was admitted at the trial from which the jury could reasonably have found the following to be true. Westoby had fashioned, and possessed under the charged circumstances, a pipe bomb complete with explosive contents, timer switch, batteries, and wires connected with an inside flashcube. With the wires in place a closing of the…