People v. Chavez

WOOD (Parker), J. Defendant was accused of violating section 337a, subdivision 3, of the Penal Code in that he did unlawfully receive and hold money wagered upon the result of a horse race. Trial by jury was waived. He was convicted, and he appeals from the ‘ ‘ Conviction” and from the ‘1 denial” of his motion for a new trial. He contends that the corpus delicti was not established, and that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction.

A police officer testified that he entered a cocktail bar in San Pedro on October 26, 1949, about 3:45 p. m., and sat at the bar; about 10 minutes thereafter, the defendant entered the bar and sat at the bar about three seats from the officer; the bar or counter has “a small turn in it” with five or six chairs “in the one turn” and about 20 chairs on the long side; the officer sat on the long side of the bar about two seats [357]from the turn, and the defendant sat on the short side of the bar just past the turn; the officer was “to the defendant’s right” or “more to the defendant’s front”; approximately a minute after the defendant sat down another man (unidentified) came into the bar and sat next to the defendant—between defendant and the officer; then another man (unidentified) came in, went to defendant, leaned over his shoulder and said: “I would like to make a bet on a horse”; the defendant then said, “Okey”; when the man leaned over defendant’s shoulder, the defendant was reading a scratch sheet, dated October 26, 1949, which was “open” on the bar in front of him, and on that sheet there were some pencil notations; after defendant said “Okey,” the man who had leaned over defendant’s shoulder said something to the defendant that the officer did not hear, and then the man handed two $1.00 bills to the defendant; the defendant held the two bills in his left hand; shortly after the defendant had received the $2.00, the officer saw defendant write on a small pad which was on top of the scratch sheet; then the officer placed his badge on the scratch sheet and arrested defendant; the officer took the scratch sheet and pad; the following writing was upon the pad: “BJ-85-B”; the defendant had another scratch sheet, dated October 26, 1949, in his pocket; the man who handed the money to defendant had just left the bar when defendant was arrested.

Another police officer testified that he had made many investigations of bookmakers, had become familiar with books and papers commonly used by them, and had testified several times as an expert on bookmaking matters; that in his opinion the writing “BJ-85-B,” appearing upon the pad, indicates as follows: “BJ” indicates the bettor’s initials,—“85” indicates the eighth race and the fifth horse,—“B” indicates Bay Meadows racetrack; that according to the scratch sheet, dated October 26, 1949 (which was on the bar), the Bay Meadows track was running horses on that date, there was an eighth race listed at that track, and there was a fifth horse which had the name Holly Son; in his opinion the characters “BJ-85-B” mean a wager on Holly Son, a horse running in the eighth race at Bay Meadows, for a person known as “BJ”; where no amount is set out on a betting marker, the marker is commonly used as a two dollar wager. He testified further that the pencil notations upon the scratch sheet (which was on the bar) indicate the winning horses and mutuel