People v. Staples

6 Cal.App.3d 61, 85 Cal.Rptr. 589 (1970)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

D, a mathematician, rented an office under an assumed name. The office just happened to be over the mezzanine of a bank with the vault right below the mezzanine. D rented the office from October 23 to November 23, but the landlord allowed him access 10 days before. D brought into the office drilling tools, two acetylene gas tanks, a blow torch, a blanket, and a linoleum rug. The landlord observed these items. D knew from a custodian that no one was in the building on Saturdays. On Saturday, October 14, D drilled two groups of holes into the floor of the office above the mezzanine room. He stopped before the holes went through the floor. He proceeded slowly in order to determine how to proceed from that point. D installed a hasp lock on a closet and placed the tools in it, but the keys were left on the premises. Eventually, the landlord notified the police and turned the tools and equipment over to them. D was arrested and voluntarily made an oral statement which he reduced to writing. D was convicted of attempted robbery. In a voluntary statement to the court, D admitted that he planned to rob the bank, but after his wife returned, he realized the absurdity of the situation and changed his mind. He claimed that he gave up the idea of the robbery, so could not be convicted of attempted robbery.