People v. De Angelo

MARKS, J.

Appellant was accused by an information, filed by the district attorney of San Bernardino County, of the crime of arson alleged to have been committed on or about the fifteenth day of July, 1931. He was convicted before a jury and his motion for new trial denied. He has appealed from the judgment and the order denying this motion.

On July 15, 1931, appellant was living with his wife and child in a small four-room house which he had built on property leased from Fred L. Hunt, and situated about six miles southeasterly from the city of Ontario. He had insured the house and its furnishings in a sum greatly in excess of their value. On the above date a payment became due from appellant to his landlord which he did not have the money to make, and the two went to the city of Pasadena to interview the agent of a finance company which had already loaned appellant money on his contract with Hunt, their purpose being to request a further loan to appellant of a sufficient amount to pay his indebtedness then due to Mr. Hunt. No more money could be obtained from this source and they returned to appellant’s house in the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Hunt continuing on a business errand which took him to a point near the city of River

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side, returning to Ms home at about the hour of 11:30 o’clock that same evening.

Appellant took his wife and child to visit his father-in-law in the city of Corona on this same evening, leaving his home between 7 and 7:30 o’clock. He was not then on good terms with his father-in-law and went to a picture show in Corona, where he stayed between the hours of 8 and 10 o’clock, when he returned to the house of his father-in-law for his wife and child and proceeded to his own home, arriving there between 10:30 and 11 o’clock to find that the house and its contents had been damaged by fire. After having' discussed this happening with certain of his neighbors, and particularly Mrs. Fred L. Hunt, he and his wife and child went to the city of Ontario, where the three spent the balance of the night in a rented apartment. Appellant arose about 6 o’clock the following morning, had his breakfast and returned with his wife and child to his residence, reaching there at about 6:30 o ’clock. The three then went to the home of a Mrs. Ida Buccura to secure her services in the packing of corn which was then being harvested by appellant. The four returned to appellant’s house, reaching there after 8 o’clock, and found that it had again been on fire and, with its contents, quite seriously damaged.