People v. Esters

Appellant was convicted of receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496). He was also charged with a prior felony conviction, and the jury found this charge to be true. He appeals from the judgment, contending first that certain evidence should have been excluded by the trial court because it was the product of illegal search and seizure, and second that the trial court is in error in finding that his prior conviction is a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

The evidence is that on January 7, 1962, a burglary occurred at a Shell service station in Richmond. Property stolen in that burglary…