People v. Gibson
California Court of Appeals
210 P.2d 747 (1949)
A police officer discovered Percy Gibson (defendant) placing a ladder near the rear of a dark department store after midnight; upon being stopped, Gibson admitted he was considering stealing the ladder, and a search revealed burglary tools on his person and nearby, including a sledgehammer, bits, braces, flashlights, gloves, a rope ladder, and wire cutters, with Gibson admitting he planned to commit a burglary but had not yet chosen a target building. A jury convicted him of attempted burglary, and he appealed.
Whether the specific intent required for an attempted crime may be inferred from surrounding circumstantial evidence, such as possession of burglary tools and suspicious conduct, absent a direct admission of intent to burglarize a specific location.