People v. Davis

SHEPARD, J. Defendant was charged by an information filed in the Superior Court in the County of Riverside with five counts of felony. They are Count I: kidnapping Homer Lee Robertson [with bodily harm inflicted]; Count II: assault with intent to commit murder on Homer Lee Robertson; Count III: abduction of Mary Robertson; Count IV; rape of Mary Robertson; Count V: rape of Mary Robertson. Defendant was also charged with two prior separate felony convictions (1944 and 1946) which he admitted to be true. Upon the suggestion of defense counsel defendant’s then sanity was tried and defendant found sane. The defense of not guilty by reason of insanity was not interposed. On defendant’s plea of not guilty a trial before a jury was started on November 24, 1958, but a mistrial was ordered because of a juror’s misconduct. On December 1, 1958, trial before a jury was again started and on December 8, 1958, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on the charges contained in Counts II, IV and V, and not guilty on Counts I and III. A motion for a new trial was made but later withdrawn by the defendant. The matter was referred to the probation officer, the probation officer’s report was had, probation was denied, and judgment of imprisonment in state prison was imposed with Counts IV and V to run concurrently but Count IV to [788]run consecutively after the sentence on Count II. Defendant appeals from the judgment.

The facts shown by the record are that on August 3, 1958, Mary Robertson and her husband, Homer Lee Robertson, camped on the Cabazon Indian Reservation near the city of Indio, California. Between 8 :30 and 9 :30 p. m., after Mary and her husband had gone to bed she suddenly saw defendant (a complete stranger) crouched over her. She screamed. Defendant warned her to be quiet or he would kill her, and he repeatedly struck her husband with a heavy object causing a depressed fracture of his skull near the left eye, breaking one of his fingers, and apparently causing a heavy laceration behind one ear. The next day defendant was found in possession of a knife and a screwdriver. The medical evidence, however, is not clear as to what instrument was used in the striking except that it was not a “sharp” instrument. However, the sight of the eye was permanently destroyed. He then forced Mary and Homer to go into a cotton patch about 200 feet away, where he bound and gagged Homer. He then took Mary some distance further into the cotton patch, away from Homer, and by threats which put her in fear of her life forced her to engage in sexual intercourse with him. He then took Mary back to where Homer lay and attempted to compel Mary to kill Homer by striking Homer on the head with a stone. She resisted, deflecting the blow so that it missed Homer’s head. Defendant then moved Mary and Homer to another location. By this time Homer was covered with blood from the cuts and gashes on his head, and apparently was in a partial stupor. Again defendant left Homer lying on the ground apparently unconscious, ordered Mary to walk a short distance away and again had intercourse with her. Upon defendant’s return with Mary to Homer the three walked under defendant’s orders to other locations. After daylight Homer was able to get help when defendant took Mary a short distance away to a store to get some food, after warning Homer not to move because defendant had Mary. Officers were called and defendant was arrested. Witnesses at the trial consisted of the two victims, certain police officers, the doctor who treated the victims, and persons who observed some of the actions of defendant and Mary during the trip of defendant and Mary to the store after daylight. Defendant did not himself take the witness stand in his own defense.