People v. Martensen

PLUMMER, J.

The defendant was convicted in the superior court of Mendocino County of the crime of resisting a public officer and was sentenced to pay a fine of $350 and also to be imprisoned in the county jail of the county of Mendocino for the period of thirty days. Defendant appeals from the judgment and also from the order denying his motion for a new trial. The record shows that on or about the eighteenth day of September, 1925, in the county of Mendocino, the defendant was traveling in an automobile along a certain public highway in the county of Mendocino at a speed exceeding forty-five miles an hour; that two officers of the motor vehicle department of the state of California, M. Holden and E. V. Pettis, observing the excessive rate of speed at which the defendant was traveling, in the performance of their duty as such officers, trailed the defendant for something like half a mile, and finally overtook the defendant and required him to stop his automobile. It further appears that the officers were also traveling in an automobile. As soon as the officers had succeeded in stopping the defendant, Mr. Holden got out of the automobile in which he and Pettis were traveling and walked over to the automobile driven by the defendant. It appears also that the officers were dressed in uniform and wearing their badges of office. Upon walking over to the automobile occupied by the defendant, Mr. Holden asked the defendant for his operator’s license and told the defendant he was exceeding the speed limit. The defendant refused to exhibit to the officer his operator’s card. Mr. Holden asked the defendant his name. The defendant refused to disclose his name, or in any manner to reveal his identity. The officer testified in this particular as follows: “I tried to get some information in every way I could, who he was, and when I could not I told him I would place him under arrest.” It appears the defendant started his motor three times in order to get away from the officers, that the third time the defendant

[765]

started his motor Mr. Holden stepped on the running-hoard and reached over into the automobile, turned the. ignition switch, stopping the motor. The defendant thereupon pushed the officer off the running-board. This occurred after the officer had told the defendant that he was going to place him under arrest. After these occurrences the officers did take actual custody of the defendant and took him to the town of Ukiah, where a formal charge of speeding was placed against the defendant and also a charge of resisting an officer.