People v. Beal

PATTERSON, J. pro tem.

Defendant was charged in an information with the crime of robbery. He was tried by a jury and found guilty of robbery of the first degree. He was also charged with and admitted two previous felony convictions. This appeal is from the judgment and from an order denying a motion for a new trial.

At about 10 a.m. on November 19, 1949, a man armed with a revolver robbed the Mel-O-Dee Club, a tavern in Albany, California. The robber entered the tavern shortly after one

[203]

of the owners, Emil Guisto, opened for the day’s business. Guisto was directed to lock the door and close the blinds on the windows. A janitor who was also present was marched into a back room. Guisto was ordered at the point of a revolver to open the safe and deliver its contents, which he did. During the course of the robbery a man named Greenwood, a friend of the owner, came to the club and finding the front door locked entered through a rear door. He was not aware of the robbery. The robber ordered the owner to get rid of him and Guisto sent Mm next door on an errand. The robber left shortly thereafter with the proceeds of the robbery, amounting to some $2,450 in cash and cheeks. While on the sidewalk Greenwood saw a man dressed as described by Guisto leave the tavern, enter a new Oldsmobile car with Nevada license plates and drive away. Greenwood pursued the car and, although unable to catch up with it, did secure the license number. Two other witnesses saw the car with the Nevada license plates and, although unable to identify the defendant, described the driver of the car as similar in dress and appearance to that described by GMsto.

That afternoon the defendant was arrested in San Jose riding in the car observed by the witnesses at the scene of the robbery. The car bore Nevada license plates and was registered in the names of the defendant and Virgima Beal, a woman with whom the defendant was living at the time. She was in the car with the defendant when he was arrested. The woman was searched by the San Jose Police Department and there was found upon her person $1,353 in currency, a portion of which was in new $10 and $20 bills. One of the owners of the Mel-O-Dee Club had obtained some new $10 and $20 bills at the bank on the day preceding the robbery. The woman admitted the money had been given to her by the defendant.

The defendant denied the commission of the robbery and sought to establish an alibi. He testified that he drove to the Labor Temple in Oakland the morning of the robbery at about 9:30 a.m. to keep a business appointment with a man named Jim Boss or Bob Boss. He claimed he loaned the car to Boss and it was returned to him at about 11 a.m. He was unable to produce Boss, could not tell where he lived or could be located, and he had not seen Boss since he loaned the car to him. The only information he could give about Boss was that he was a gambler. Three witnesses testified on