People v. Cooper

96 P.2d 1012, 36 Cal. App. 2d 6, 1939 Cal. App. LEXIS 6
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 8, 1939
DocketCrim. 3178
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 96 P.2d 1012 (People v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Cooper, 96 P.2d 1012, 36 Cal. App. 2d 6, 1939 Cal. App. LEXIS 6 (Cal. Ct. App. 1939).

Opinions

WOOD, J.

Defendant was charged in each of two counts with the crime of robbery and in each count it was charged that he had previously been convicted of the crime of rape and had served therefor a term of imprisonment in the state prison. Defendant admitted the prior conviction but entered pleas of not guilty to the charges of robbery. A jury returned verdicts of guilty on both counts ánd defendant appeals from the judgments thereafter pronounced.

Defendant now contends that the district attorney was guilty of misconduct and that' the trial court erred in its rulings on the admission of evidence. The record discloses certain errors but in our judgment they are not of such character as to justify a reversal in view of the evidence presented by the prosecution. We therefore set forth the most important evidence presented to show the guilt of defendant.

The complaining witness referred to in count I of the information, 0. J. Lewis, testified that he was on January 20, 1938, the manager of a market operated by the Safeway Stores at 6355 South Broadway in the city of Los Angeles. At about 6 o’clock in the evening the Witness was closing the doors of the market when defendant entered. After he finished closing the doors and was getting a breadbox Mr. Lewis saw defendant standing in front of the cash register. He left the box and asked defendant if there was something [9]*9he wanted, to which defendant replied “two camels”. Mr. Lewis then went to the check stand to get the cigarettes and while he was reaching for them defendant moved around toward the door. When the witness looked up defendant produced a revolver and ordered the witness to get money for him. In response to this demand the witness took a paper bag from under the check stand, put money in it and handed it to defendant. While this was being done defendant unlatched the door to the market, holding it open so that he could escape. During all of this time defendant was facing the witness. At the trial Mr. Lewis was shown a revolver which had been received in evidence. He testified that it was similar in appearance to the revolver which defendant held at the time of the robbery. A cap and overcoat were exhibited at the trial and Mr. Lewis testified that they were similar in appearance to those worn by defendant at the time of the robbery. These garments had been found by officers in a vacant lot to which they had been directed.

John Sullivan, the complaining witness referred to in count II, testified that on January 22, 1938, he was employed as a salesman for the Safeway Stores in Los Angeles, the store where he was employed being located at 5975 South Hoover Street. At about 6:15 P. M. the witness was standing in the middle of the store in front of the butcher’s counter, at which time the manager of the store was going to the rear with some empty bottles. The witness volunteered to take the bottles back but the manager indicated that he would do it himself. When the witness turned around he saw defendant standing by the cheek stand so he walked to the check stand and asked what he could get for him. To this defendant responded by shoving a bag to the witness and demanding that he “fill it up”. The transcript shows the following questions and answers: “A. He said ‘Fill it up.’ I says, ‘Fill what up!’ He shoved the bag over and I saw a gun. I hollered then, ‘Oh, Johnnie!’ That was the manager. On account of my being the clerk I wanted him to see I was held up. So he turned around and this man pointed the gun and said, ‘Turn the other way.’ So in the meantime I took the bag and filled it up with the money that was in the cash register. Q. How much did you put in the bag? A. $99.00, they tell me. Q. Will you tell me where with reference to the man that held you up, how [10]*10close did you get to him, how far away was he? A. Oh, just a couple of feet.” Mr. Sullivan also identified the revolver in evidence as being similar to the one with which defendant was armed at the time of the robbery. He testified that the cap and overcoat which were exhibited at the trial were similar to the cap and overcoat worn by defendant at the time of the robbery.

John Winn, the manager of the market at 5975 South Hoover Street, testified that on the evening of January 22, 1938, as he was taking some empty bottles to the back room he heard the clerk, Sullivan, call and on turning around he saw defendant standing with a gun at the counter holding up Sullivan. Defendant ordered the witness to turn around but he did not do so for a minute or a minute and a half. The witness identified the cap and overcoat exhibited in court as similar to the ones worn by defendant at the time of the robbery.

William Caskey, a meat cutter in the employ of the market at 5975 South Hoover Street, testified that on the evening of the robbery he had stepped to the back room of the store to attend to some business and when he started to return to the front of the store he heard the witness Sullivan call “John”. At that time the witness pushed the swinging door separating the back room from the front part of the store partially open and saw defendant in the act of robbing Sullivan. The witness also heard a motor running and tried to go out through the back door to get its number. He found the back door barred and when he returned Sullivan had been released. The witness thereupon went to the side of the store and saw a faded green Chevrolet automobile about two blocks away. It was shown that the witness Haigh, to whom reference will hereafter be made, was the owner of such a car. This witness also testified that the cap and overcoat exhibited in court were similar to the clothing worn by defendant at the time of the robbery.

Harold Crawford, a clerk in a sporting goods store located on West Fourth Street, testified that he had sold the revolver admitted in evidence to defendant on January 19, 1938, and that at that time defendant told the witness that the gun was being purchased for someone else. The witness informed defendant that the other man would have to get the revolver and sign for it in his own name. When so informed de[11]*11fendant said he would sign for it, but he signed the name of William Haigh. The weapon was held at the store for twenty-four hours in accordance with required procedure and thereafter a person identified in court as William Haigh called for it. Before leaving the store defendant procured five shells for the revolver in question and took them with him.

Police officer Winter testified that William Haigh had signed a statement involving himself and defendant in the commission of the robberies which was presented to defendant to read and that defendant had stated, “I don’t know anything about it except buying the gun. ... I will admit I bought the gun.” The statement itself was admitted in evidence on rebuttal. The defendant testified that when Officer Hudson showed him the statement signed by Haigh and asked him, “What do you think about this?” he, the defendant, had replied: “If the man signed this, which I don’t think he did, he must be crazy.” The officer then asked, “Don’t you know anything about it?” and the defendant replied, “Absolutely not, other than that I did get the gun for him. I went down and picked the gun out and paid for it. Outside of that I know nothing about it. ’ ’

Defendant now contends that the trial court erred in its rulings on the admission of evidence. There is force in his argument that it was improper for the court to permit the district attorney to show that Haigh had first met defendant in the county jail. The place of their meeting was not material.

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Related

People v. Johnson
222 P.2d 335 (California Court of Appeal, 1950)
People v. Reese
150 P.2d 571 (California Court of Appeal, 1944)
People v. Cooper
96 P.2d 1012 (California Court of Appeal, 1939)

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Bluebook (online)
96 P.2d 1012, 36 Cal. App. 2d 6, 1939 Cal. App. LEXIS 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-cooper-calctapp-1939.