People v. Griffin

WOOD, J. Defendant was charged by information with the crime of robbery. It was also charged that he was armed at the time of his arrest and that he had suffered two prior felony convictions. Defendant admitted the two prior convictions, and a jury returned a verdict finding him guilty of robbery in the second degree and that he was armed at the time of his arrest. He appeals from the judgment and from the order denying his motion for a new trial.

It is now argued that the evidence is insufficient to justify the conviction. Prom the evidence presented by the prosecution it appears that defendant in the afternoon of January 27, 1939, entered a candy store at 3349 Wilshire Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles and demanded of Miss Mary Leizer, a saleslady, that she hand to him money from the cash register, saying, “Keep your mouth shut, this is a hold up.” She handed to him the sum of $3.95, consisting of approximately 48 pennies and many nickels and dimes. [61]An elderly couple entered the store at this time and defendant rushed out and disappeared. Miss Leizer identified defendant as the perpetrator of the crime.

Mrs. Marion Canter was at the time of the robbery seated in her automobile, which was parked near the candy store. She noticed a man walking across the street from the vicinity of the store to a coupe parked directly in front of her car. This man maneuvered the coupe back and forth and struck the bumper of Mrs. Canter’s car. He then drove his car away. Because of the manner in which her car had been bumped Mrs. Canter made a notation on a piece of paper of the license number of the car, 3B 6626 (1938). She soon learned that the candy store had been robbed, and furnished the police with the license number which she had written down.

While walking his beat at 3:15 A. M. on January 29, 1939, officer Leach noticed a coupe bearing license number 3B 6626 (1938) crossing Broadway on 4th Street. He commandeered a car, gave chase and overtook the coupe at the corner of 5th and Hill Streets. Defendant was taken from the coupe and to the police station, where an automatic revolver and approximately 14 nickels were found on his person. He had no other money with him, but the officers on searching his clothing in his hotel room found approximately 40 pennies tied up in a handkerchief. His coupe carried two sets of license plates.

There is no occasion for setting forth other incriminatory evidence presented by the prosecution. Manifestly, there is no merit in defendant’s contention that the evidence is insufficient to justify the conviction.