The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is a criminal appeal by the State from an order of the Ellis County District Court dismissing a complaint charging Thomas W. Zimmerman and Philip Mark Schmidt (defendants-appellees) with burglary (K.S.A. 21-3715). At the close of the preliminary hearing the district court ruled the element of entry had not been shown by the State and ordered that the charge be dismissed.
Upon arriving at the warehouse Terry Karlin observed defendant Philip Mark Schmidt carrying “at least a couple” of cases of “Black Label” brand beer across a рarking lot east of the warehouse. As Karlin was walking toward the door of the warehouse he also noticed defendant Tom Zimmerman sitting in a car parked in a parking lot west of the warehouse.
Shortly after Karlin’s arrival, while working in the back of the warehouse, Jim Mall saw defendant Schmidt through an open door walking west dоwn an alley behind the warehouse. Looking closer, Mall observed that Schmidt was carrying cases of Black Label beer. Mall informed Neil Schmidt they had been “ripped off.’’ Neil Schmidt ran into the alley and obtained the license tag number of a car going down the alley. Earlier, Neil Schmidt had observed Tom Zimmerman sitting in a car near the alley in the parking lot west of the warehouse. The license tag number of the car seen by Neil Schmidt going down the alley belonged to Tom Zimmerman.
Jim Mall then examined the beer delivery truck and found one of the bay doors open on the side of the truck facing the street. That particular bay compartment contained Black Label brand beer. It was determined three cases of Black Label beer were missing.
Neil Schmidt and Jim Mall testified that when the delivery truck was loaded each day the bay compartments on the side of the truck facing the warehouse were loaded first, and then those bay doors were closed and the truck turned around for the other side to be loaded. The bay doors are an overhead type door located on each side of the truck and are part of the truck itself. On the day of the alleged burglary, Neil Schmidt had loaded the side of the truck where the Black Label beer was containеd and turned the truck around. He testified he was certain all the bay
Shortly after the police were notified of the alleged burglary defendants Zimmerman and Schmidt were .located in Zimmerman’s car. A search of the car produced three cases of Black Label brand beer. Jim Mаll testified the beer recovered by police was similar to that taken from the truck. A complaint was filed charging defendant Schmidt with burglary of a motor vehicle in count one and with theft in count two (K.S.A. 21-3701). Defendant Zimmerman was charged with aiding and abetting on both counts.
At the close of the State’s evidence the defendants mоved that the felony burglary charge be dismissed. The defendants argued that the testimony by Neil Schmidt that he was positive the bay doors on the truck were closed because it was his habit to close them, and the fact that one door was found open, was insufficient to show the element of entry. Further, there was no evidencе Mark Schmidt had been seen near the truck. Sustaining the defendant’s motion, the court ruled that the element of entry was missing. The court directed, however, that trial be set for the theft charge.
At the outset the appellees challenge the State’s right to pursue this appeal under the provisions of K.S.A. 22-3602(&). The right to appеal is jurisdictional and therefore must be considered. K.S.A. 22-3602(b) provides in part:
“Appeals to the supreme court may be taken by the prosecution from cases before a district judge or associate district judge as a matter of right in the following cases, and no others:
“(1) From an order dismissing a complaint, information or indictment.”
The right to appeal is statutory only, and appeals by the prosecution as a matter of right after a final judgment are allowed only
Directing the court’s attention to the rule that the prosecution may refile a complaint after the discharge of a defendant resulting from a preliminary hearing, the appellees contend the State should not be authorized to elect between the two remedies available to it of either refiling the complaint and proceeding to a new preliminary examination or appealing the dismissal of the complaint. The appellees point out that a defendant has no right to appeal from a pretrial order denying his motion to quash an indictment or information filed against him, and suggest it is therefore unfair to allow the State to appeal from an order dismissing a complaint where the right to refile the complaint exists.
In support of this proposition the appellees rely on
State v. McCombs,
Under our present code of criminаl procedure the term “magistrate” has been defined to include only appellate court judges and judges of the district courts. K.S.A. 22-2202(12). Every person arrested on a warrant charging a felony is entitled to a preliminary hearing before a magistrate under K.S.A. 22-2902, unless such warrant has been issued as a result of an indictment by a grand jury. Where a magistrate does not find probable cause to bind a defendant over for trial the defendant is to be discharged. Appeals by the prosecution as a matter of right are afforded by K.S.A.
22-3602(b)
from any
order of a district judge or associate district judge dismissing a complaint,
information or indictment. In the present case the burglary count in the complaint was dismissed by an associate district judge of the district court of Ellis County. It has long been held the State may appeal from an order quashing or setting aside one count of an information, although another count charging a different act is held sufficient or is not attacked. See
State v. Levine,
This appеal from the order of the district court dismissing the
Criminal defendants are not given the right to appeal intermediate pretrial orders. This avoids piecemеal prosecution of the crimes charged and also prevents unnecessary delay in the judicial process. A defendant has the right to appeal such intermediate orders after a final judgment has been entered against him. See
State v. Wallace,
The key issue presented on appeal is whether the trial court
“Burglary is knowingly and without authority entering into or remaining within any building, mobile home, tent оr other structure, or any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, railroad car or other means of conveyance of persons or property, with intent to commit a felony or theft therein.”
The State contends the action of opening the bay door of the truck and reaching in the bay compаrtment to remove the cases of beer constitutes an entry within the purview of K.S.A. 21-3715. The statute does not define “entering into,” nor does it indicate what part of a vehicle must be entered to constitute a burglary. This court has been called upon in numerous cases to determine whether sufficient entry has been shown by the evidence to support a conviction of burglary. In a case similar to the one at hand, it was held there was sufficient evidence of entry where the defendant stuck his arm through a slit in the roof of a convertible, ostensibly to remove a purse lying in plain view on the seat.
State v. Ervin,
“In cases of burglary, the least entry with the whole or any part of the body, hand, or foot, or with any instrument or weapon, introduced for the purpose of committing a felony, is sufficient to complete the offense.”
Other cases in this jurisdiction have considered what constitutes a sufficient entry into a dwelling place. In
State v. Gatewood,
“Literаlly, entry is the act of going into the place after a breach has been affected, but the word has a broader significance in the law of burglary, for it is not confined to the intrusion of the whole body, but may consist of the insertion of any part for the purpose of committing a felony. An entry is accomplished by putting through the place broken the hand, the foot, or any instrument with which it is intended to commit a felony.”
See also 13 Am. Jur. 2d, Burglary § 10; 12A C.J.S., Burglary § 22a. Recently we held the removal of a storm window from a house
Like Kansas, many other jurisdictions have enlarged the crime of burglary by providing that motor vehicles may be the subject of the crime. Consequently, what constitutes the breaking and entering of a motor vehicle under the facts of a particular case has been litigated on several occasions. See Annot., Burglary or breaking and entеring of motor vehicle,
In
State v. Pierre,
The court in
Bragg v. State,
However, the removal of hubcaps from a vehicle was not found to constitute a burglary in
State v. Hankins,
In the present case, Neil Schmidt testified the bay door cov
It is the duty of a magistrate conducting a preliminary hearing to determine only whether from the evidence a crime has been committed and whether there is probable cause to believe the accused committed it. K.S.A. 22-2902(3);
State v. Ramsey,
We conclude that sufficient evidence was presented from which a jury could find there was an entry into the truck to support a conviction under K.S.A. 21-3715. The trial court therefore erred in ruling that no entry had been shown by the evidence and dismissing the complaint against the appellees.
The decision of the lower court is reversed and the case is remanded.
