People v. Harsch

YORK, P. J.

Appellant was charged in an information with the crime of robbery, together with a prior conviction of felony. At the trial appellant appeared

in propria persona

and was found guilty as charged, the jury fixing the crime as robbery in the second degree. This appeal is prosecuted from the judgment of conviction and from the order by which appellant’s motion for a new trial was denied, upon the grounds: (1) The verdict is contrary to the evidence; (2) Errors of law committed by the court during the trial; and (3) Prejudicial misconduct on the part of the deputy district attorney, who prosecuted the cause.

The alleged robbery took place at about 1:40 o ’clock in the morning of April 25, 1940, when appellant entered the Avalon Coffee Shop at 5957 Avalon Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles, stepped to the counter, pointing a gun at Charles Mc-Kinnon, a waiter, in the presence of a customer named William Le Doux, and said: “All right, let’s have it”; referring to the money in the cash register which was resting on the counter nearby. The witness McKinnon testified that he handed appellant the contents of the cash register which was later checked and found to be the sum of $31.50, consisting of $20 in change, a $5 bill and some $1 bills. The said robber then took a wallet from the pocket of Le Doux and finding it empty threw it on the counter. During all the time appellant was in the cafe, he held his gun partly concealed by a handkerchief pointing either at McKinnon or at Le Doux. Appellant was arrested in the morning of April 25th in an automobile parked in front of 918 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, in which automobile he was found lying in an intoxicated condition on a bag of coins.

At the trial the silver coins enclosed in a light brown paper envelope were offered in evidence and marked for identification, the denominations of the coins being noted as follows: one 50$ piece, twenty-four 25$ pieces, ninety-six dimes, sixty

[574]

nickels and five pennies, totaling $19.15. There was also placed in evidence a $5 bill and three $1 bills which were found on appellant’s person at the time of his arrest.

In connection with his first point, appellant urges that the evidence is insufficient to justify his conviction for the reason that he was not identified beyond a reasonable doubt as the person who robbed the coffee shop.