People v. Benton

TUTTLE, J.

Appellant was convicted of the crime of robbery in the first degree, by a jury, and now appeals from the judgment of conviction and order denying a motion for new trial.

On September 19, 1938, appellant, his half-brother Ralph Benton, and one John Suttle, drove to the city of Modesto, in an automobile. They stopped near a Safeway store at approximately 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon, entered the store, and bought some coca cola. They stayed in the store from about twenty to twenty-five minutes, and then left the premises, entered their automobile, and drove around a few blocks. After an interval of several hours they again parked their automobile near the store. Defendant and John Suttle got out of the automobile. The latter returned to the store, and his testimony at the trial indicates just what he did: “ I went up to the store and knocked on the door, and the clerk come to the door and asked me what I wanted, and I told him a coca cola. He opened the door and I went in and I got my coke, went over and drank a little of it, put a gun on him and took the money and marched him into the back room looking for the rest of it; I couldn’t get it so I took him out back to the store and left.” This happened at about 8 o’clock on the evening of the day mentioned. Defendant did not approach or enter the premises upon this occasion. Suttle then proceeded to where the automobile was parked, and he there met defendant. Both of them entered the automobile in which the third member of the trio, Ralph Benton, had been seated during all of the times mentioned. Before he left the store Suttle took with him over $100 in cash, which came from two cash registers, and was placed in a paper bag by the clerk in the store upon the demand of

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Suttle. Taking the money with them, the three drove the automobile to the town of Tuolumne, and there divided the proceeds among them equally.

Upon being arraigned for trial, an attorney was appointed by the court to represent defendant, but this attorney thereafter withdrew upon defendant’s request. The latter refused an offer of the court to appoint other counsel for him, and stated that he would act in his own behalf and represent himself at the trial. This was done, and the defendant now appears

in propria persona