Allen v. State

Psr Curiam. On March 15, 1967 the appellant was convicted in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, Judge Albert L. Slclar presiding without a jury, of two cases of burglary, of carrying concealed upon his person a dangerous and deadly weapon and of being a rogue and vagabond. He was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 20 years on one burglary conviction, for a term of 10 years consecutive with the first sentence on the other burglary conviction and for a term of 1 year on each of the concealed weapon and rogue and vagabond convictions, concurrent with the first sentence. There was evidence before the court that the apartment of Martha Shea at 103 E. 22nd Street had been entered between the hours of 8:30 P.M. January 27th and 1:30 A.M. January 28th 1967.

Entrance had been gained by breaking the lower panel of the rear door to the apartment. The bedroom had been ransacked, a chest broken into and a small silver watch stolen. No one was in the apartment at the time of the burglary. About 10:45 P.M. on January 27th Wilma Modra, apparently a woman of advanced years, and who needed the aid of a crutch to walk, was in bed in her apartment in the same building.

She heard a noise at the rear kitchen door to her apartment, hobbled into the kitchen and was met by a young man, about 17 or 18 years old, who had gained entrance by breaking the door panel. He immediately started to beat her about the face and head and “nicked” her neck several times with a knife he had. “He thought maybe I was unconscious” and went into the front room and she went down the back way to a neighbor next door who called the police. The burglar took a watch with “rubies and a little diamond around it.” She was unable to identify positively the man who broke into her dwelling but said that the appellant “looks like him.” Her description of the cap and coat ⁷⁴³ her assailant was wearing tallied with the cap and coat worn by the appellant when he was apprehended. Officer William Mego received a report of the burglaries and was dispatched to 103 E. 22nd Street, which address was on his post, to assist in obtaining a report.

He assisted the officer on the scene until about 12:15 A.M. and when leaving the premises heard a noise in the rear of the 2100 block North Calvert Street. “The rear of 103 E. 22nd Street is off set behind the rear of 2100 Calvert Street.” He could not find anything, so he walked across the street, “ducked up an alley,” waited a short time and came back. He saw someone going up a fire escape in the rear of 2116 or 2118 North Calvert Street. The man had a shiny object in his hand and “he was working on the back door * * * It looked like he was trying to pry the rear door open, the rear screen door open.” The officer called to the man to come down but “he ducked down.” The officer put his flashlight on the man and he came down. He identified himself as Lester Allen, living at 1212 Ensor Street and the officer placed him under arrest and gave him a “weapons pat down.” A knife was found in the back pocket of the appellant.

It was introduced in evidence upon the identification of the officer and Mrs. Modra testified that it looked like the knife used by her assailant, that it was the same size and -color. The officer took the appellant to a call box, called the wagon and took him to the station where the turnkey, in the presence of the officer, found two watches on the appellant. The watches were identified by the victims as the watches stolen from them. The appellant testified that he was 16 years of age and that he had been in 2116 North Calvert Street with some friends and a girl named Monica, last name unknown, who was visiting her cousin.

He left about 11:30 P.M., called Monica on the phone from a booth and told her he would go around back and “come up on the porch.” He knocked on the glass “but didn’t nobody come” — except the police officer. He said he won the silver watch in a crap game held in the alley about 11:30