Owens
People v. Owens
Opinion
Opinion
Appellant Arthur F. Owens, Jr., and his codefendant Charles Madry, Jr., were arrested at a service station in San Jose when, for reasons irrelevant to this appeal, a police officer ran a warrant check on the vehicle they were driving and discovered that it had been stolen.
The two suspects were taken to the police station where they were interviewed and separated and gave inconsistent tape-recorded statements after waiving their right to silence. They were then locked together in an interview room where they engaged in inculpatory conversation which was secretly recorded. At one point in the conversation, Madry asked, "Any speakers in here?" Appellant replied, "Don't you know that they probably have this thing wired?" Madry answered, "Damn. I messed myself up ... I don't know if they have this wired up or not...."
Appellant was charged with taking or driving an automobile without the consent of the owner in violation of Vehicle Code section 10851. The information also alleged that he had suffered two prior felony convictions, one for the same offense and one for sale of a controlled substance (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352).