Wright

The appellant, Frank Wright, was charged jointly with William R. Steiner with burglary and grand theft. The defendant Steiner entered a plea of guilty to grand theft, and the charge of burglary against him was dismissed “in the interest of justice.” The jury brought in a verdict of guilty against the appellant Frank Wright on both counts. Probation was denied, and he was sentenced on each count to a term of imprisonment in state’s prison, the sentences to be served concurrently. The defendant Wright appealed from the judgment. He was represented by the public defender at the trial, his present attorney acting for him on the appeal.

The essential question that the jury answered in this case was whether the appellant Wright participated with guilty knowledge in the raid which Steiner conducted on coin and antique shops in the San Joaquin Valley. Everyone, including the appellant, admits that Steiner was guilty of successive thefts during two days in the area involved, namely, Merced County and Fresno County. The defendant Steiner speaks of his work as “procuring” various articles of personal property in the area; the record demonstrates that he is a modern Autolycus, “a snatcher up…