People v. Sanchez

BARNARD, P. J. The defendant was. charged with the crime of murder, it being alleged that he shot and killed [594]one Leon Ecides at El Toro, in Orange County, on July 21, 1917. A jury found him guilty of murder in the first degree, recommending life imprisonment. This appeal is taken from the judgment and from an order denying a motion for a new trial. The main and practically the only point presented is that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain the judgment. The only arguments made are that most of the witnesses were unable to identify the appellant and that the statement made by him at the time of his arrest does not show that he was guilty of murder.

It appears from the evidence that on the evening of July 21, 1917, a dance was being held at El Toro which was largely attended by Mexican families. During the course of the evening a number of American young men, who had been attending a beer party near by, came to this dance and some of them took part in the dancing. Something seems to have occurred as a result of which all of the men present went outside of the hall and a rather general fist fight followed. A shot was fired which killed Ecides and immediately thereafter a man ran away into the darkness. Practically all of the men present, Mexicans as well as Americans, started in pursuit of the fleeing person, but stopped when someone called out that he was armed and might shoot someone else.

When the appellant was taken into custody, more than sixteen years later, he denied that his name was Jose Sanchez, and denied that a picture which the officers had was a picture of himself. Pie later admitted his identity and that this was his picture. In a statement made to the officers he admitted that he had shot the man at El Toro but said that someone hit him on the arm and his gun went off. He further stated that he pulled the gun out of his pocket to throw it away; that another fellow pushed him and the gun went off; that he did not intend to kill anyone; that it was an accident; that he did not know what happened or just how it happened; that he was scared and ran away; that he stayed that night at Santa Ana and went the next day to Los Angeles; that soon thereafter he went to Arizona, where he worked ■ for about five years under an assumed name; that he carne back to Los Angeles about 1921 and worked there for about ten years; and that since 1917 he had gone under the assumed name, except on one or two [595]