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State of Kansas, Appellee, v. Pierre Andre Walker, Appellant

Kansas Supreme Court1967-01-21No. No. 44,361
198 Kan. 14422 P.2d 565

Summary

Holding. The judgment of conviction for second-degree burglary was affirmed because the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, was sufficient to support the jury's verdict.

Pierre Andre Walker was convicted of second-degree burglary after police responded to an alarm at an automobile dealership and found him inside the locked building attempting to exit through an open window. Two vending machines in the building had been pried open and emptied. Walker claimed he had entered the building earlier in the day through open service doors to use the restroom, became sick, and was simply trying to leave after being locked inside when the business closed for the night. The jury rejected his account and found him guilty.

On appeal, Walker argued the trial court erred in its jury instructions on circumstantial evidence and that insufficient evidence supported the conviction. He contended the prosecution's circumstantial evidence was equally consistent with his innocence as with guilt, and he requested the appellate court overturn the conviction or grant a new trial. The appellate court reviewed the evidence and determined it fully supported the jury's guilty verdict.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to support burglary conviction
  • Credibility of defendant's alternative explanation for presence in locked building
  • Whether 'breaking and entering' element was established

Procedural posture

Walker appealed his second-degree burglary conviction, raising three specifications of error regarding jury instructions on circumstantial evidence, the denial of a directed verdict, and the denial of a motion for new trial.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Price, C. J.:

This is an appeal from a conviction of burglary in the second degree.

The building housing the Oldsmobile automobile agency in Kansas City was equipped with an automatic electric burglary alarm system whereby the police station would receive notice of an unlawful entry into the building during the time when the business was closed. At about 9 p. m. on January 18, 1965, an employee closed the business for the night. In doing so he made a visual check of all the windows — and all were either locked or closed— which fact was confirmed by the burglary alarm indicator.

About an hour later — pursuant to an alarm — police converged on the building. A window on the west side was open and defendant was attempting to leave through it. Upon seeing the officers he and another man — both of whom were known to the police — ran for cover. The officers entered through the open window and soon found defendant hiding in a loft under automobile parts. Two merchandise vending machines in the building had been pried open and rifled. Defendant explained his presence by saying he had intended to sleep there that night “so that he could be the first in line to buy an Oldsmobile the next morning.”

Defendant was represented by retained counsel throughout his trial. He took the witness stand. His explanation of the incident was this:

• During the late afternoon and early evening of the- day in question he had been drinking in the vicinity. He became sick and “wanted to go to the bathroom.” He entered the building in question through the open service doors and proceeded to the “men s room” — with which he was familiar. When the business was closed for the night he found himself locked in the building — and when apprehended by the officers he was “merely trying to get out.” It was contended, therefore, that the elements of burglary — “breaking and entering” (K. S. A. 21-520) — were not established, and that the state’s evidence, being circumstantial, was just as consistent with his innocence as with his guilt.

Ry its verdict of guilty it is obvious the jury did not believe defendant’s version of his presence and reason for being in the building.

In this appeal three specifications of error are urged. The first is that the trial court erred in its instruction on circumstantial evidence. The record does not disclose an objection to such instruction, and further, the point is not argued in the brief, and therefore, must be regarded as abandoned.

The other two specifications are that the trial court erred in not directing a verdict for defendant and in overruling his motion for a new trial, because there was no competent and substantial evidence to support the verdict and that the verdict is in fact contrary to the evidence.

Neither contention is good.

The evidence in this case was both direct and circumstantial. The function of this court on appeal is discussed in State v. Crosby, 182 Kan. 677, 324 P. 2d 197, 76 A. L. R. 2d 514, Syl. 4 and 5, and need not be repeated. See also State v. Ledbetter, 183 Kan. 302, 327 P. 2d 1039; State v. Gregory, 191 Kan. 687, 690, 691, 383 P. 2d 965, and State v. Shaw, 195 Kan. 677, 678, 679, 408 P. 2d 650.

The evidence fully supports the verdict. No error has been shown. The judgment is affirmed.