People v. Herman

NICOL, P. J.,

pro tem.

The defendant, with one Venice Gibbons, was accused of having, on the seventeenth day of November, 1919, stolen four sacks of wool from one W. P. Hoke in Sutter County. The said Gibbons pleaded guilty, and this defendant was tried and, on the fourteenth day of January, 1920, was convicted of the crime of grand larceny.

[594]

Prom the judgment and order denying motion for new trial defendant prosecutes this appeal.

It appears from the evidence that on the seventeenth day of November, 1919, the defendant was, and for some time prior thereto had been, engaged in conducting a junk business in the city of Marysville, under the name of the “American Junk Company.” The said Venice Gibbons was on this day working for him, and for some time prior thereto he had been in defendant Herman’s employ, going out in the country and gathering up junk, which he hauled to defendant’s junk-yard. The wool belonging to the said W. P. Hoke was stored in a shed in the usual wool sacks on his ranch in Sutter County, about twelve miles from the city of Marysville. Some time prior to the seventeenth day of November, the said Gibbons and the defendant had been out in the vicinity of the said shed and had seen the wool, but no conversation was had between them at that time about the wool. On the afternoon of the seventeenth of November, 1919, - Gibbons and another' man were seen in the vicinity of this wool-shed, at which time there were sixteen sacks of wool piled upon a wagon, preparatory to hauling it to market. On the night of November 17th the said Gibbons and another party took from this wagon four sacks of wool (weighing 962 pounds) upon a small truck belonging to the defendant and hauled it to Marysville, thence to Sacramento, where they arrived some time before morning, and about 7 o’clock in the morning of November 18th they went to the “Sacramento Reduction Works,” conducted by one Prank Repetía, where they left the wool in the name of the “American Junk Company” and received from Repetía a tag showing the number of pounds. With this tag they returned to Marysville, where Gibbons saw the defendant and gave him the tag. The other party was not seen by the defendant. Defendant then called up the “Sacramento Reduction Works” and inquired concerning the number of pounds of wool which had been stored, and, not being satisfied with the answer, went to Sacramento the forenoon of the said 18th of November, and saw Repetta and from him learned it to be a fact that the number of pounds of wool reported had been in fact delivered and he then returned to Marysville and saw Gibbons and paid him for the wool at the rate of twenty cents per pound.