People v. Loomis

261 P. 512, 86 Cal. App. 768, 1927 Cal. App. LEXIS 299
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 16, 1927
DocketDocket No. 991.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 261 P. 512 (People v. Loomis) 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. Loomis, 261 P. 512, 86 Cal. App. 768, 1927 Cal. App. LEXIS 299 (Cal. Ct. App. 1927).

Opinion

PLUMMER, J.

The appellant was convicted of manslaughter upon an indictment charging him with the crime of murder in that he did, on or about the fourteenth day of April, 1927, in the county of San Joaquin, wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and of his malice aforethought, kill and murder one E. J. Wilson. This appeal is prosecuted by the appellant from the order of the court denying his motion for a new trial and the judgment of conviction entered upon the verdict of the jury finding him guilty of manslaughter, as herein stated.

The transcript shows that the appellant Loomis and the deceased E. J. Wilson were ranchers living some three or four miles apart in the agricultural section of San Joaquin County lying northeast of the town of Ripon; that Loomis and Wilson had resided in that neighborhood at least seven years previous to the fourteenth day of April, 1927; that the appellant and the deceased had been acquainted for that period of time and had exchanged a limited number of calls or visits; that some two years previous to the fourteenth day of April, 1927, the wife of the deceased had died, and that thereafter Wilson made more frequent visits at the home of the appellant. The evidence shows that the deceased, for a period covering *771 about six months prior to April 14, 1927, had several times come to the home of the appellant and taken the wife of the appellant out to card parties and other places of amusement. The evidence does not show just how many times the deceased had taken Mrs. Loomis out to different places of amusement, but it does show that the appellant consented to Wilson taking Mrs. Loomis out to the different places. The family of the appellant consisted of himself, his wife, and a minor daughter of the age of about eight years. It further appears from the testimony that some time previous to the second day of April, 1927, and on or about the twenty-seventh day of February, 1927, the deceased took Mrs. Loomis for an automobile ride on a road leading from Escalón to Farmington, and during the ride violated the person of Mrs. Loomis. Some conversation thereafter which took place between the deceased and Mrs. Loomis is set forth in the transcript to the effect that the deceased insisted that Mrs. Loomis should not make known to the appellant the wrongful acts of the deceased, it appearing that the deceased apologized for his unwarranted conduct and promised never again to repeat such conduct. Thereafter Mrs. Loomis, not mentioning to her husband the conduct of the deceased just referred to, upon the invitation of the deceased and the urging of her husband, accompanied the deceased to one or two places of amusement, and on the second day of April, 1927, without having said anything to her husband about the acts of the deceased, again accompanied the deceased to a card party. Upon returning home from the card party, the deceased took Mrs. Loomis to his own residence, and there, according to the testimony of Mrs. Loomis, against her wish and consent, again violated her person. After this occurrence the deceased once more became penitent and apologized, and on the eleventh day of April, 1927, invited Mrs. Loomis to accompany him to some party or place ’of amusement. Mrs. Loomis refused this invitation, and after the departure of the deceased, upon being pressed by her husband as to her reason for declining to go out with the deceased, as he (Loomis) could not go, related to her husband the acts of the deceased herein mentioned. On the following day the appellant, with his wife, drove over to the residence of the deceased in an automobile, and there, in the presence of one or two *772 witnesses, had a conversation with the deceased in relation to the conduct of the deceased toward the wife of the appellant. In this conversation the deceased manifested no disposition to discontinue his acts toward the wife of the appellant. Thereafter the appellant and his wife drove over to the town of Modesto where a physician was consulted to ascertain if any infectious disease had been communicated to Mrs. Loomis by reason of the conduct of the deceased. The appellant and his wife then returned to their home and continued working on their farm until about 11 o’clock on the fourteenth day of April, 1927, when the appellant and his wife again drove over to the home of the deceased. Before leaving on this second visit the appellant took with him an automatic revolver, placing the same in his right-hand hip pocket. Upon reaching the residence of the deceased, and inquiring of an electrician who chanced to be there, of the whereabouts of the deceased, the appellant ascertained that the deceased was at work out in the fields mowing alfalfa. Thereupon, the appellant, together with his wife, drove over in their automobile to where the deceased was mowing alfalfa and waited for the deceased to come around to that portion of the field nearest to the course over which the appellant had driven his automobile. According to the testimony of Mrs. Loomis, the deceased stopped his mowing-machine right by the automobile just mentioned; that the appellant and Mrs. Loomis remained in the automobile; that the right front wheel of the automobile was about opposite the left side wheel of the mowing-machine; that the deceased, after stopping his mowing-machine, came up to the right side of the automobile; that the appellant asked the deceased what he had to say about the occurrences, and the deceased remarked that he had nothing to say; that at the time of this conversation the deceased was standing by the right side of the automobile with one of his hands against the door thereof; that at this juncture the appellant got out of the automobile and went around the rear thereof and leaned up by the hind wheel against the fender. At this instant of time the appellant addressed the deceased as follows: “Earle, I just want to know if you acknowledge that you forcibly assaulted my wife”; to which the deceased replied, “Yes, and what is more I will do it again; I will get rid *773 of you and then I will get her.” After saying this, the deceased made a lunge at the appellant and hit him. The witness did not see the blow, but says she heard it; that she saw the deceased pass by her as he moved toward the appellant ; that she heard a thud as of something falling; that she immediately looked around and the appellant was getting up; that after the appellant got up, deceased again started toward him with his hands raised; that at this time the appellant had his right hand raised, holding therein the gun to which we have referred, and that as the deceased started toward the appellant the second time, the appellant fired one shot. The deceased hesitated a moment, ran over toward the mowing-machine and hesitated there a moment as the appellant fired a second shot; that the deceased then ran in an easterly direction over the checks in which the alfalfa field was divided; that the appellant followed the deceased some little distance, during which period of time several shots were fired; that after the deceased had reached a point which is shown by the testimony of other witnesses to be at a distance of 203 feet from where the shooting began, the deceased turned and faced the appellant, and the appellant, according to his testimony, at a distance of some 15 feet, again fired at the deceased, whereupon the deceased, after taking a step or two, fell to the ground and was later taken up dead.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
261 P. 512, 86 Cal. App. 768, 1927 Cal. App. LEXIS 299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-loomis-calctapp-1927.