People v. Wheeler

Belcher, C. C. — The defendants were tried upon, an information charging them with the crime of false 'imprisonment, and convicted. They moved for a n-:*w trial, and have appealed from the judgment and order denying their motion.

The facts of the case may be briefly stated as follows: In 1884 the defendant Wheeler made application to pmy chase from the University of California a tract of land, bordering on Clear Lake, in Lake County, and made a preliminary payment therefor. The land sought to^ be purchased was at that time unsurveyed public land of the United States. Afterwards, in February, 1885,: the township embracing the land was surveyed, and on/ the 19th of April, 1886, the map of the survey was filed', in the local land-office. From the time of this attempted purchase Wheeler claimed the land, and soon after thd map was filed made application to have it listed over to the state. There were two cabins on the tract, one near what is called Chappall Bay, and the other about a mile and a half away, and situate near the lake shore. In October, 1885, Wheeler employed the complainant, John Standley, to work on this tract .chopping brush; and he continued to so work until the 13th of March, 1886, when he was discharged. During the time he was so employed he lived in the cabin near Chappall Bay, and cleared off one and three fifths acres, for which he was paid by the acre. Wheeler lived in the other cabin, having in it a bed, books, cooking utensils, etc., and was there most of the time. Early in .March he went away, leaving in the cabin a young man named Hall, who was also employed by him. On the 19th of April, 1886, Standley went to the United States land-office and filed there his declaratory statement to pre-empt a quarter [254]section of the tract, and received the usual certificate and receipt from the register and receiver. The cabin then/occupied by Hall was on this quarter-section. On the 21st of April, Standley saw Hall and told him he had a bi,"ll of sale of the cabin, and he would like to have him mo/ve Wheeler’s things out as soon as possible. In compliance with this request, Hall moved Wheeler’s things out of the cabin, and surrendered possession of it to Standley, who went to living in it, and commenced at opee to build a new cabin for himself some two hundred jjards away, and was engaged working upon it on the 4th Qf May following. On the 23d of April, Hall wrote to Wheeler, telling him of Standley’s attempted location and L /entry upon the land. On the 4th of May, Wheeler re|turned, with the avowed purpose of removing Standley \\from the premises, forcibly if necessary. He was accompanied by four other persons, one of whom was the defendant Mooney. Wheeler and Mooney came to a point hear where Standley was at work on his cabin, in a boat. They went up to him, and after some conversation /Wheeler said: “You have no legal right here, and I desire you to get away.” After some further conversation, Mooney laid his hand on Standley’s shoulder and said: “ There is your boat, and I advise you to get into it.” The parties then clinched, and Standley was thrown down; the other three persons then came up and assisted in holding him; Wheeler ran to the boat and got a rope, and with that Standley’s hands and feet were tied. He was then placed in the boat and taken round to Chap-pall Bay. There he was taken from the boat and made to get into a wagon, in which he was driven away. At Chappall Bay he asked the names of the four persons who had assisted Wheeler in removing him to that point, and each one of them gave him a false name.