People v. Picaroni - 131 Cal. App. 2d 612, 281 P.2d 45 (1955)

Rule:

Cal. Penal Code § 460 defines the degrees of burglary. Entering an inhabited dwelling house or building in the nighttime would be burglary of the first degree, and the entry of an uninhabited garage would be burglary of the second degree.

Facts:

Defendants were arrested following the burglary of a home and adjacent garage and were jointly convicted of burglary by a jury on count one of an information and acquitted on another count. Defendants filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. Defendants appealed, claiming that the two counts of the information charged but one burglary growing out of the same transaction and act in violation of their rights against double jeopardy and that an acquittal on one count was a bar to a conviction on the other.

Issue:

Did the two counts of the information charge one burglary growing out of the same transaction and act? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the judgment convicting defendants of burglary. The court held that the two counts were not the same, because entering an inhabited dwelling house or building in the nighttime was burglary of the first degree, while the entry of an uninhabited garage was burglary of the second degree, and, in the instant case, the garage was a separate building from the dwelling house. The court held that under Cal. Penal Code, § 954, a verdict of acquittal of the count of burglary of a dwelling was not an acquittal of the count regarding the burglary of the garage.