People v. Ridgell

FOURT, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of guilty of robbery (Pen. Code, § 211) and from an order denying a motion for new trial.

In an information filed in Los Angeles County on November 15, 1961, appellant with his codefendant Mosley was charged with robbing ITenry L. Turner of his wallet and money on September 13, 1961. Appellant pleaded not guilty. He was represented by separate counsel and a jury trial was waived. The court found both defendants guilty of robbery in the second degree. Motions for new trial and probation were denied and appellant was sentenced to the state prison.

On September 13, 1961, Henry Luke Turner, sometimes hereinafter referred to as “the victim” or as “Turner” was at about 2:30 a.m. in the area of the Los Angeles General Hospital. He was waiting at that time for a bus when two Negroes (the codefendants) drove up in an automobile and offered to give him a lift. Turner told them that his home was in South Pasadena. The defendants agreed to take Turner home if he would purchase for them a tank of gasoline for the car. Turner got into the automobile and they proceeded to a nearby gasoline station. The gasoline tank of the car was filled at the station and Turner gave to the station attendant his credit card for the purpose of making a memorandum of delivery.

Alfred Williams, the attendant at the gasoline service station at the time in question, stated that an automobile driven by appellant with Turner, a Caucasian, as a passenger seated on the right hand side next to the car window, came into the service station at about the time in question. The codefendant was seated between Turner and appellant. Williams further stated that he filled the tank of the automobile with gasoline, received a credit card from Turner, made out a memorandum of delivery for the merchandise and returned the credit card to Turner. The memorandum of delivery showed the license number of the car which appellant was driving. The memorandum was introduced into evidence.

When the automobile left the gasoline station the occupants were seated as indicated and appellant drove toward the

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Santa Ana Freeway. Turner then realized that something was wrong. At a red signal light street stop Turner jumped out of the car. He walked across the street to catch a taxi or bus to go downtown. Appellant drove the automobile to the place where Turner was standing and the two occupants of the automobile got out. Turner recognized the occupants of the car as the codefendants and the car as the one in which he had been riding. The defendants stated to Turner, “Give us what you’ve got or else you get it.” The eodefendant was back of Turner and the appellant in front of him. Both defendants attacked Turner and he fell to the ground. The codefendant grabbed Turner’s throat and appellant took his wallet and money. Turner did not see where the defendants then went. The victim called for help and yelled to the effect that he had been robbed. Persons who apparently lived close by answered the call for help and made the situation known to the police. At the spot where Turner was robbed the police found some items which had been dropped from his wallet (among such being the memorandum of delivery slip from the gasoline station). At the hearing on the motion for a new trial, an officer stated that the victim had identified the codefendants from photographs both before and after the trial. At that hearing counsel for appellant in effect stipulated that the identifying witness (the victim) had identified a picture of appellant and had stated that appellant was the person who committed the crime against him.