People v. Johnson

SHENK, J.

In a prosecution of the defendant for murder the death penalty was imposed.

By information the defendant was charged with the murder of Harry F. Darling on the eighth day of June, 1932, in the city and county of San Francisco. By a second information he was charged with the murder of Mervin Rear-don at the same time and place. He was also duly charged with a prior conviction of a felony, to wit: grand larceny, and the service of a state prison sentence therefor in the state of Utah. He entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges of murder and denied the prior conviction. At the beginning of the trial the

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defendant withdrew his denial of the prior conviction and admitted the same. The murder charges were tried together. After the verdicts of guilty were returned, the defendant withdrew his pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity. He appeals from the judgments and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

The facts and circumstances attending the homicides were presented by the prosecution and are undisputed in every material respect.

About 9 o’clock in the evening of June 8, 1932, the kitchen door-bell rang at the residence of Andrew J. Bell located at 206 Justin Drive, in St. Mary’s Park, a residential section of the city. Mr. Bell, a police officer of the San Francisco police department, was on duty from midnight until 8 A. M. and had retired shortly after 7 o’clock on the 8th. Mrs. Bell had also retired. She heard the bell ring, but refrained from responding to the signal until she heard a “fumbling” of the door-knob. She opened the door and saw two men with flashlights. She screamed and Officer Bell responded in time to observe the two men make their get-away into the night. At the trial Mrs. Bell identified the defendant herein as one of the two men. Officer Bell requested his wife to notify the Ingleside police station at once by telephone of the suspicious presence of the men in the neighborhood, which was done, and Bell proceeded to dress in preparation for the pursuit. Three police officers responded to the call on motorcycles and a search of the neighborhood was begun. At 9:50 a police radio message was sent out that there were burglars in the house at 256 Justin Drive, which was several doors removed from the residence of Officer Bell, but on the same street. Bertel A. Nelson lived at 256 Justin Drive with his wife, but on that evening they were away from home. The deceased Harry F. Darling, who resided next door to the Nelsons, saw two men enter the Nelson house and notified the police department. In response to-the resulting police radio call, numerous police officers proceeded to Justin Drive, including Officer Reardon, the decedent, and Officers McKenna, Cook, Loftus, Garrick and McGreevy. When they arrived on the street they met Officer Bell and the police officers who had responded to the call sent in by Mrs. Bell and immediately inquired about the location of 256 Justin Drive,