People v. Ferrara

ELLISON, J.,

pro tem.

The defendant has been convicted of the crime of robbery and sentenced to imprisonment for the term of fifteen years. He prosecutes this appeal from the judgment and order denying his motion for a new trial.

In view of the youth of the defendant and the judgment rendered the record has been examined with great care, the result of which is that no reversible error has been found. In fact, the trial seems to have been conducted with unusual care and regard for the defendant’s rights. Many points are made by appellant for a reversal, and they will be given such consideration as seems proper.

It is claimed that the

corpus delicti

was not proved. A brief narrative of the salient facts of the case will show that this position is not well taken.

The prosecuting witness, Duffy, came from Merced to Stockton on the afternoon of the second day of September, 1915, arriving there about 4 o’clock, and went to a saloon kept by a man named Grohmans. There he met the defendant and they had several drinks. At about 4:30 P. M. Duffy, in company with the defendant, left the saloon and went to the boat landing for the purpose of taking a boat to San Francisco. The defendant bought a boat ticket for himself and one for Duffy. The officers at the boat landing refused to let Duffy go on the boat because of his intoxicated condition and took up his ticket, returning to him the price thereof, one dollar. The two then returned to the Grohmans saloon and were there informed that a Southern Pacific trian would leave for San Francisco at about 7 o ’clock. The two walked to the Southern Pacific depot and when they reached it learned that the train they expected to take had gone; they were, told that a Santa Fe train would leave at about 8:30‘. The

[3]

defendant told Duffy he knew the way to the Santa Fe depot and they started to walk there, the defendant taking the lead. When they were within about 150 yards of the Santa Fe depot the defendant said: “Give me a smoke.” While sitting there on the side of the railroad track, smoking, a man came along with a lantern and the defendant asked him what time the train would leave and defendant told Duffy he said about 9 o’clock. (It seems Duffy is somewhat deaf.) Shortly after this man left the defendant attracted Duffy’s attention to something up the track and when Duffy turned his head the defendant struck him just back of the ear. Duffy jumped up and the defendant struck him again between the eyes and once on the hand. After Duffy had been thus struck he felt "everything going—everything kind of commenced to get dark for me.” Duffy testified that after this he had a faint recollection of defendant going through his pockets. After some time Duffy regained consciousness and managed, after several efforts, to get to his feet. The defendant was gone and Duffy did not see him again until after his arrest. Duffy testified that when he was struck by the defendant he had in his pocket about $28; that when he came to his money was all gone—there was none in his pockets. He testified that just.before he left Modesto he got two checks which he cashed, one for $30 and one for $12.50, and then detailed, as best he could, what he spent from that time until he was struck, and figured he had about $28 left. There was much other testimony in the case, among which were statements of the defendant to the officers, which were manifestly false, but the above recital is sufficient for the purpose of noticing the points relied upon for a reversal.