Baxter

After a jury trial defendant was convicted of robbery in the first degree. There was no finding on the truth of a prior conviction charged in the information. On motion of the People, the allegation in the information that defendant was armed, was stricken. Probation was denied and defendant was sentenced to prison for the term prescribed by law. He appeals from the judgment of conviction. A motion under section 1538.5 of the Penal Code was made and heard before trial. It was denied.

The Facts

Since no question of the sufficiency of the evidence has been raised on appeal, the facts of the robbery can be recounted briefly.

At about 11 a.m. on June 17, 1968, defendant, who was armed with a pistol, walked into the office of the Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills and informed the five employees in the office that “this is a holdup; don’t anybody move.” The office is located above the restaurant, part way to the top of a metal stairway which passes up the outside of the building. The stairs constitute the only entrance to the office. The office door was open when defendant entered. Waving the pistol around, defendant walked to one desk and stuffed loose currency into the…