People v. Sundlee

Opinion

FRIEDMAN, Acting P. J.

Defendant appeals after a jury found him guilty of arson. (Pen. Code, § 448a.)

Fires had been breaking out in the neighborhood of a dam construction site in wooded foothills. Suspicion fell upon defendant, who was employed as a night watchman on the construction job. Defendant had a pickup truck. Thirteen employees of the State Division of Forestry formed a surveillance team in order to watch defendant. They were equipped with walkie-talkie radios; their communications were recorded on cassette tapes. On the night in question members of the team were concealed in…