Pitts broke into a storehouse in North Carolina and attempted to blow open a safe with dynamite; the statutory crime of burglary by explosives. The mere entry into the storehouse did not constitute simple statutory burglary because storehouses were not protected. Pitts fled to New Jersey to avoid prosecution. Dr. Brandenburg (D) performed plastic surgery upon Pitts, altering his fingerprints and reducing the size of a facial scar. D was indicted for misprision of a felony under a federal statute (Fugitive Felon Act). D was convicted and appealed; the federal statute referred to common law burglary and not burglary by explosives.

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