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No. 81-189
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 1982
STATE OF MONTANA,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
VS. VERNON L. VAN NATTA a/k/a JOHN SMITH,
Defendant and Appellant.
F&(ifi
Appeal from: District Court of the Judicial District,
In and for the County of Cascade
Honorable H. William Coder, Judqe presiding. Counsel of Record: For Appellant: Karl Nagel, Great Falls, Montana
For Respondent:
Hon. Mike Greely, Attorney General, Helena, Montana
J. Fred Bourdeau, County Attorney, Great Falls, Montana
Submitted  on  briefs:  April 1, 1982  
Decided:  September 23,  1982  
Filed:  SEP 2 3 1982  

Mr. Justice John Conway Harrison delivered the Opinion of the Court.
Def endant-appellant was arrested and charged with two counts of felony burglary and two counts of felony theft. Following a rash of incidents in Cascade County and Lewis and Clark County on
November  16, 1980,  and November  17, 1980.  On  February 24,  1981,  
a  jury  verdict  found  defendant  guilty  on  all  four  counts.  
Defendant appeals from this conviction.  

In the early morning hours of November 17, 1980, three bars in the Cascade-Wolf Creek area were burglarized. Prior to the burglaries, on November 16 1980, Jack Pachek reported someone stole his late model pickup truck. The truck, a 1977 two-tone blue and white Ford club cab was stolen while parked in front of Pachek' s business located in Great Falls.
The first break-in took place at the Ulm Bar in Ulm, Montana. The intruder first attempted to enter the bar by removing pieces of the window frame on the front door. When this attempt proved unsuccessful, entrance was gained by breaking into a residence owned by Frank Ball which lies adjacent to the bar. Early in the morning of November 17, 1982, Ron Ball was awakened by an intruder. When Ron looked down the hallway of the house he observed an individual, who he later identified as the defendant, removing guns from the gun room. Ron watched as the defendant removed the guns, proceeded down a hallway and left through a garage door. Frank Ball later identified the stolen guns as an old Winchester Model 70 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, a 10-gauge shotgun, a 300 Savage and a Remington 22-250. Frank Ball, who was not present during the robbery, also noted that several items had been stolen from the bar adjacent to the residence including a stamp machine, a saddle, a case of Rainier beer and approxi-mately $40 from the jukebox.
A second break-in occurred in the early morning hours of November 17, 1980, at the Mountain Palace Bar, thirteen miles south of Cascade, Montana. At the Mountain Palace Bar the
intruder gained entry by prying loose the wooden strips of a win-
dow  frame,  removing  the  window  and  then  reaching  through  and  
unlocking  the  door.  After  unplugging  the  burglar  alarm,  the  
intruder  removed  a  case  of  Olympia  beer  from  the  cooler  and  
approximately $300  to $500 from the  jukebox.  
A  third  break-in  occurred  in  the  early morning  of  November  

17, 1980, at the Craig Bar in Craig, Montana. At the Craig Bar the intruder gained entrance by removing the pins of the hinges of the front door. Several items were stolen from the bar including the money in the jukebox, some Lucky Lager beer, and a bottle of Seagram's Seven whisky.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on November 17, 1980, Elmer Lindquist observed someone matching the description of the defendant park a blue pickup truck outside his house located near Cascade, Montana. When Lindquist made a noise in the house, the individual returned to the truck and drove to the highway. Lindquist went outside and noted a size L-78 by 15 Goodrich tire mounted on a cream colored wheel had been stolen from the bed of his pickup.
On the afternoon of November 17, 1980, John Strandel, a deputy sheriff in Cascade County, was driving to Great Falls on Interstate 15 to do follow-up reports on the Ulm and Mountain Palace break-ins. On the way, Strandel observed a highway patrolman parked behind a Ford club cab pickup. The previous night Strandel had observed a similar pickup parked west of Cascade on St. Peter's Mission Road at approximately 4:00 a.m. Strandel stopped to investigate and learned from Highway Patrolman, Larry Strickland, that the truck had been stolen from Great Falls. On the southside of the pickup, in the ditch, Strandel found six cans of Olympia beer, one can of Rainier beer, three cans of Lucky Lager beer and one Seagram's Seven whisky bottle. Lying on the pavement next to the passenger door of the pickup Strandel found on 12-gauge Remington shotgun shell, and one 10-gauge Remington shotgun shell. Strandel then searched an area a few yards from the ditch where he first found the beer and found a stamp machine approximately fifty yards away from the pickup. Approximately ten yards east of the stamp machine, Strandel found six rifles laid side-by-side in the grass. Five of the rifles were later identified as those taken from the Ball residence in Ulm and the stamp machine was identified as that taken from the Ulm Bar. In the back of the truck Strandel found a B.F. Goodrich tire and wheel later identified as belonging to Elmer Lindquist, The sixth rifle was later identified as a .22 caliber rifle which had been stolen from a house in Craig on November 17, 1980.
On the morning of November 17, 1980, a man later identified as the defendant registered for a room at the Belmont Hotel in Great Falls under the name of Jim Todd. The individual paid for his room with

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Montana Law