People v. Savage

CRAIL, P. J. The defendants were charged in an indictment with having feloniously asked and with having agreed to receive and with having received from Roy Weitzel and Gerald Rokes a bribe in the sum of $125 for the purpose of influencing their action in their official capacity as police officers in the city of Los Angeles with relation to the arrest and prosecution of the said Roy Weitzel and Gerald Rokes. The jury returned a verdict of guilty against both defendants but recommended that defendant Acker be granted clemency. [74]This appeal is taken from the judgment of conviction and the order denying a motion for a new trial.

Among other facts and circumstances in evidence it appears that on Armistice Day, 1935, several persons, known to the defendant Savage, were attempting to cash spurious checks, drawn on the Willys-Overland Automobile Company, in the district where the defendants had been assigned for duty. One of these persons was picked up by the defendant Acker and another by Police Officer Kinney at separate points and brought together. The suspects stated that the defendant Savage would vouch for them as being honest boys and requested the arresting officers to take them to Savage’s home for such purpose. Prior to that date the suspects had entered into an arrangement with defendant Savage whereby, through the medium of his activities in their behalf, they were to obtain police protection for any of their criminal activities in the way of burglary, forgery and robbery committed in the district.' They were taken to his home and Savage vouched for the boys and also told them it would cost them “$100 to square the beef”. The suspects raised $75, which they gave to defendant Savage at the time, and he raised an additional $25. The suspects were thereupon dismissed and no police report of their arrest was made. About a half hour later defendant Acker handed to Officer Kinney $50 saying, “Here’s a Christmas present for you.” Subsequently the suspects met the defendant Savage in a cafe in Los Angeles and gave him an additional $50, stating that $25 was for the $25 which Savage had loaned them on the deal and $25 was for Savage’s trouble.

. The appellants first contend that the trial court erred in denying the motion of defendant Acker for a separate trial based on the ground that he would be prejudiced on a joint trial by the reception of evidence which in a separate trial would probably not be admitted as against him but which was competent as against his codefendant Savage. This was a matter for the exercise of the court’s sound discretion. We have read the record and we are not prepared to say that the court abused its discretion in this regard.