People v. Williams

Following a second nonjury trial, defendant was found guilty of burglary (Pen. Code, § 459), fixed by the court at second degree, and he was sentenced to serve six months in the county jail (Pen. Code, § 461), to run concurrently with a sentence he was then serving under judgment of a federal court.

His appeal from the judgment rests on his claim that a confession given to the police was improperly admitted in evidence against him.

On January 2, 1969, appellant was arrested in an apartment in Pasadena shared with a woman named Karen Topping. In the apartment at the time of his arrest were Miss Topping and one Mark Harryman. Initially, there were four counts in the information filed against appellant, all felonies. Count I charged him with possession of marijuana on January 2, 1969, count II with burglary between December 7-9, 1968, count HI with burglary on December 29, 1968 and count IV charged him and Harryman, jointly, with a burglary on December 27, 1968.

At the time of the first trial, Harryman pled guilty to count IV. By stipulation, appellant was tried upon the transcript of evidence received at his preliminary hearing. Appellant was found not guilty of counts…