People v. Toomes

In People v. Toomes (1957) 148 Cal.App.2d 465, the court held that the lid of an automobile trunk was a "door," within the meaning of the statute. The court reached its conclusion, after an analysis, that ". . . a most satisfactory guide to the legislative intention would be the apparent evils sought to be prevented, namely, the breaking into the interior sections of locked cars." ( Toomes, supra, p. 466.) The Toomes court further noted at page 467 that the purpose of the statute was to ". . . make it a more serious offense to break into the interior of a car than to merely steal something from it."