People v. Hines

BARNARD, P. J. The defendants were charged, in two . counts of an information, with conspiracy to commit theft and with grand theft. The defendant John Doe, who was referred to at the trial as a man named Roberts, seems to have been a mysterious stranger whom none of the others knew and who was never apprehended. The defendants Hines and Davis pleaded guilty. The jury acquitted Geneva Brooks and found James Henry Brooks and Hazel Cooper guilty. The latter two have appealed from the judgment and from an order denying a motion for a new trial. No briefs have been filed for Brooks, and we will refer to Cooper as the appellant.

There is no dispute as to the general facts. All of the defendants lived in or around Los Angeles, Brooks living two doors from Cooper. On Saturday, September 23, 1944, all of the defendants, except Cooper, went to Brawley in two trucks. One of these, referred to as the “bob-tail,” was rented from the Mercury-U-Drive. The other, a truck and trailer, referred to as the “semi,” was owned by Cooper. They arrived at Brawley early Sunday morning and waited for night. After dark that night they went out to two nearby ranches and stole 322 bales of hay. Two hundred and fourteen bales were loaded on the “semi” at one ranch and 108 bales were loaded on the “bob-tail” at another. They returned to Los Angeles, arriving there Monday forenoon, and both loads of hay were taken to the ranch of a Mr. Mushagian, near Downey. They had given fictitious names at weighing and inspection stations. Mushagian agreed to buy the hay on the “semi” but refused to buy that on the “bob-tail,” saying it was inferior in quality. The “bob-tail” and its load was driven to Cooper’s house and Cooper was informed that Mushagian would not buy that hay. Cooper ordered the “bob-tail” driven back to Mushagian’s and went there himself. He tried to persuade Mushagian to buy that load of hay and when he again refused Cooper suggested other places where he thought it could be sold. Although it is claimed that Mushagian was buying the hay from Brooks he paid Cooper $208 as part of the purchase price on Monday, September 25. Mushagian testified that Brooks was not there when he paid Cooper, that nothing was said as to why he should pay Cooper rather than Brooks, and [67]that “I tried to stall him (Cooper) on paying the money there, and he needed the money bad, and I let him have some of it and let the rest of it go for a little while. ’ ’ Cooper testified that he kept $50 out of the $208 for the rent of his truck and that he gave the rest to Roberts. A day or two later, Cooper’s truck was located at the Mushagian ranch, where it had been left, and most of the defendants were arrested.