People v. Vaca

WOOD (Parker), J. Defendant Lechuga, Joe Yaca and Jesse Barrera were convicted, in a jury trial, of three counts of forcible rape. Lechuga, 18 years of age, was committed to the Youth Authority. Lechuga appeals from the judgment and the order denying his motion for a new trial.

Appellant contends that the court erred in instructing the jury; and that the testimony of the prosecutrix was inherently improbable.

On March 4,1955, about 8 p. m., Patricia, an unmarried girl 14 years of age, and her girl friend LaYeta went to a dance at a schoolhouse. While they and Eddie Alfaro, LaYeta’s friend, were standing outside thé schoolhouse, Donald Matheny, who was Patricia’s friend, drove up in an automobile. Several Mexican boys were in the automobile with him. He asked Patricia to go with him. She declined, stating there were too many boys in the automobile. Then Donald drove away. Patricia asked Eddie where Donald had gone. About 9 p. m. Patricia, LaYeta and Eddie went away from the schoolhouse, in Eddie’s automobile, and after driving about 15 minutes they arrived at a place in a field where a bonfire was to be started. Several boys were at that place. Eddie stopped his automobile near Donald’s automobile. Eddie told Donald that Patricia wanted to talk to him. After Donald and Patricia had talked about five minutes, she entered Donald’s automobile, which was a two-door Buick, and he drove around the corner and parked. They sat in the automobile and talked about 10 minutes. Then “a bunch of Mexican boys got around the car.” Patricia locked the door of the automobile, on the side where she was sitting. Donald got out of the automobile and talked, in Spanish, to the boys. Then Patricia got out, on the driver’s side of the automobile. A boy asked her where she was going. She said she was going where LaYeta and Eddie were. Then the boys pushed her into the back seat of Donald’s automobile. When she was pushed into the automobile there were three boys in the back seat and four boys in the front seat. Donald got into the driver’s seat. She screamed, and they threw a coat over her head and tore and pulled her underclothing off. The automobile was driven a short distance, and then the coat was removed from her head. After the automobile was stopped, about 17 boys had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. She struggled, screamed and cried. Part of the time the coat was over her head. They struck her several times. Every time she screamed one of the boys would hit [493]her. When she was screaming, Joe Vaca had hold of her leg. He had a needle and a bottle, and he told her that if she did not keep quiet he would shoot the needle in her leg.