People v. Sandoval

WOOD (Fred B.), J. To a charge of robbery, taking $580 from Andrew Ford on February 2, 1952, Raymond Sandoval pleaded guilty and testified on behalf of the state. To the same charge in the same information Louis Benavides pleaded not guilty, and was convicted of second degree robbery. He [779]has appealed from the judgment and from the order denying his motion for new trial.

He did not testify at the trial and does not question the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict. He makes five assignments of prejudicial error upon the part of the court during the course of the trial.

(1) Did the court commit prejudicial error in allowing Ford, the prosecuting witness, to testify concerwmg his physical condition at the time of the trial, June 9, 1952? No.

Over the objection that it called for the opinion and conclusion of the witness and was irrelevant and immaterial, Ford was allowed to answer the question “Are you under a doctor’s care at the present time as a result of the injuries you received on February 2nd?” He answered, “I still go to the hospital and take outside hospital treatment.” The question was relevant to the issue of force or fear, if any, involved in the commission of the alleged robbery. (Pen. Code, § 211.) The witness was competent to testify concerning the facts elicited. Moreover, he had previously stated without objection, “I have received outside patient treatment since then [February 7th, when he left the hospital].”

(2) Did the court erroneously summarize the evidence and thereby commit prejudicial misconduct? No.

Ford testified that he met Sandoval and Benavides at a certain cafe. When it came closing time he understood them to say they would take him back to his ship or to his home. So he entered a car with them and was placed in the back seat. He tried to get out but they put him back in the car and he “passed out.” The next thing he remembered was fighting near some railroad tracks. He was not certain whether he was fighting both Sandoval and Benavides or only one of them. He remembered being struck by some one. He tried to defend himself but it did him no good. Upon cross-examination defendant’s counsel sought to get Ford to say or to admit that he did not remember being hit, that he inferred he was hit because he was badly bruised when he woke up in the morning by the side of the railroad tracks. In response to a series of such questions Ford said he did not know which of the two men struck him, nor how many blows; he passed out in the car; the next thing he remembered was standing on a railroad track and fighting; he remembered squabbling and fighting with them; couldn’t say whether “he hit me”; asked “You don’t remember getting hit, do you?” he said, “Yes, I can say I got hit because my eyes were all black and blue and my face