People v. Rodriguez

VAN DYKE, J.

Appellant, Manuel Rodriguez, was charged by information filed in the Superior Court of Placer County with the crimes of kidnaping, child stealing, attempted rape and assault with intent to commit rape. On motion of the People the charge of attempted rape was dismissed. Trial was had before a jury which returned verdicts of not guilty on the kidnaping charge and guilty of child stealing and assault with intent to commit rape. Motions for new trial were denied and judgments were entered, sentencing appellant to imprisonment in the state prison for the terms prescribed by law, the two sentences to run concurrently. Motions for arrest of judgment were denied. This appeal is from the judgments and from the orders denying new trial and arrest of judgment.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to respondent, as we are required to do, the record herein shows the following: On the date of the offense the victim, a young girl of the age of 16 years, was living with her parents in

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Roseville and attending high school. On the date in question she returned home from school at about 5 ¡30 in the evening and upon arriving found that defendant was sitting in his ear parked in front of her home. He called her over to the car and asked where her mother was, to which she replied her mother was at the Purity Store. Upon appellant’s request the girl entered his automobile in order to show him the location of the store. When defendant had driven to the store the girl stated that her mother was not there since her mother’s car was not parked in front of the store, and appellant then drove toward Sacramento, notwithstanding the girl’s request that he take her home. In response to her statement that she had to return home because she was to go to work that evening, appellant said he would go a little bit further and then turn back. However, he drove to Sacramento, where he stopped at a gasoline station to obtain gasoline. and then continued toward San Francisco over the girl’s continuous and repeated objections and in denial of her repeated requests that she be returned to her home. While appellant’s car was following a truck down the highway the girl attempted to signal the driver of the truck but failed to attract his attention. However, when appellant observed her actions he immediately speeded up, passed and outdistanced the truck. After dusk he stopped along the shoulder of the highway and went into an orchard, leaving the girl in the car. She attempted to drive away but was unable to do so, and while he was returning to the ear she got out and ran down the highway a distance of about two city blocks, all the time attempting to signal passing cars. Appellant pursued her, caught her and forced her back into his car. He then made advances, which she resisted. After awhile he drove on toward San Francisco and again stopped and attempted to become intimate with the girl, threatening her, striking her across the face with his hand, struggling with her and preventing her attempts to escape. He continued striking her, threatened to tear her clothes off or cut them off with a knife and, this proving insufficient, threatened to kill her. While attempting to force his will upon his victim appellant made the threat that if she would «not give in to him he would take her to San Francisco and make her live there with him as his wife, their situation and relations to be kept a secret. Despite these threats, she finally succeeded in opening the door of the car. She ran onto the