State v. Hill

138 P. 1149, 44 Utah 79, 1914 Utah LEXIS 7
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 28, 1914
DocketNo. 2527
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 138 P. 1149 (State v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hill, 138 P. 1149, 44 Utah 79, 1914 Utah LEXIS 7 (Utah 1914).

Opinion

McCARTY, C. J.

Tbe defendant, J. A. Hill, was convicted in tbe district court of Salt Lake County of murder in tbe first degree, alleged to bave been committed at Midvale, in said county, on tbe 7th day of August, 1912. Tbe court, on tbe recommendation of tbe jury, sentenced tbe defendant to life imprisonment at bard labor. To reverse tbe judgment, defendant prosecutes tbis appeal. •

Tbe evidence shows that on tbe evening of August 7, 1912, between tbe hours of nine-thirty and ten o’clock p. m., two men wearing masks entered tbe Vienna, saloon in Midvale, and, pointing loaded revolvers at four persons in tbe saloon, ordered them to bold up their bands. Tbe four persons were Frank Colclough, tbe night marshal of Midvale, and three Austrians, namely, Paul Sherrieh, who was tending bar, Mike Lamich, and Mike Kavachivich. Tbe two' robbers, on discovering tbe night marshall in tbe saloon, commenced shooting. Colclough, tbe marshal, was shot and almost instantly killed. Shots were also fired by Paul Sherrieh, tbe bartender; Charles Gammett, one of tbe robbers also was shot and mortally wounded. He died some two days later. Tbe other robber ran out of tbe front door of tbe saloon and escaped.

Tbe important question presented by tbe appeal, and tbe only one we deem necessary to consider, is: Does tbe evi-[81]*81'deuce establish the identity of the defendant as the robber who entered the saloon with Gammett and engaged in the •commission of the crime alleged?

The theory upon which the case was presented and tried •on the part of the State is that the defendant, Charles Gam-mett, and one Jack Callaghan participated in the killing of 'Colclongh; defendant and Gammett taking part in the shooting, and Callaghan acting as a guard or “lookout” on the out•side. The evidence shows that the defendant, Callaghan, and Gammett were, for several years next preceding the crime, ¡acquainted with each other, and had on different occasions associated together as miners working in different mines, •and were on more than ordinarily friendly terms. As such they were together in Butte, Mont., at Bingham, Utah, and in Salt Lake City. There is evidence tending to show that they were together at Midvale in the afternoon of the day on which the crime was committed. The defendant introduced •evidence tending to show that he was not in Midvale, or in the vicinity therof, on that day. He testified that he never was there, except on one occasion when he passed through the town on a train. We think it is sufficient to here state, with•out setting forth in detail the facts, that there is ample evidence to support a finding by the jury that defendant was at Midvale, and there was some evidence that he was in and ■about the Vienna saloon in the forenoon and in the afternoon <of the day on which the homicide occurred. The evidence also shows that defendant, a few days after the homicide, went to work in Snake Creek tunnel, in Wasatch County, and ■continued to work there under the name of Wilder until he was arrested for the crime charged September 6, 1912. The changing of his name undoubtedly was a suspicious circumstance of more or less weight, but was not, within itself, sufficient to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime. The defendant testified that he went to work under ■an assumed name because two friends of his, Harry Walker and a man known as “Hardrock” Johnson, met him a short rtime before he applied for work and stated to him: “You [82]*82were a good friend of Gammett, and they might suspect yon of that (referring to the homicidé).” “I said: ‘No danger' of that.’ They said: ‘Well, you better change your name anyway and be careful and look out for yourself. You have got guns on you, and they are liable to think you are the fellow who done that because you came up from Salt Lake the next morning.” The foregoing is a general outline of the facts regarding the whereabouts of the defendant a short time prior to the homicide, as shown by the evidence, and of his movements and conduct in a general way from about August 10th, three days after the homicide, until he was arrested September 6th.

Noyal W. Stokes, city marshal of Midvale, was called as a witness by the State, and, on cross-examination, testified that he was notified of the homicide and came to the saloon a few minutes after the shooting occurred; that Gammett was in great pain, having been “shot over the eyebrow, in the wrist, and in the leg.” He further testified, without objection, that he inquired of Gammett the name of his confederate, and he replied that “it was a fellow I met in Salt Lake,” and that he did not know his name. “I said, ‘What’s your partner’s name ? he is killed,’ and he said, ‘It serves the-right, he ought not to have gone into a Dago joint,’ and also thaf he did not know his name; that he met him in Salt Lake. I asked him what his companion’s name was, and he said, ‘didn’t you ask him,’ and I said ‘No; he is killed.’ ”

The undisputed facts show that the defendant is of light complexion, about five feet nine or ten inches in height, has blue eyes, a short and somewhat thick or chubby nose, and at the time of the homicide weighed from 153 to 158 pounds.

We now come to the proceedings by which the State sought to identify the defendant as the robber who entered the saloon with Gammett and participated in the killing of Colclough. The robber who made his escape was seen by Sherrich, Lamich, and Kavachivich, the three Austrians who were in the saloon, one of whom, Sherrich, took part in the shooting. Two other men, George E. Carlston and John Eedman, who claimed to have been in the street near the [83]*83saloon and heard the shooting, testified that they saw the •escaped robber runing out of the saloon, down the street and ■disappear in the darkness. The three Austrians were called by the State. They could not speak, nor did they understand the English language, and hence gave their testimony through an interpreter.

Lamieh testified, in part, as follows:

“Q. How did the height of the man that got away with the blue handkerchief on his face compare with the height of this defendant, Mr. Hill ? A. I don’t know whether it is him or not, but the height compares just about like Mr. Hill. 'Q. Was the man who got away about the same size as Mr. Hill ? A. He might have been a little bit larger or smaller, I did not look. ... I was so scared I did not know where I was standing.”

Kavachivieh testified:

“I am six feet three inches tall; weigh 19.4 pounds. The man who got away was tall, but I can’t say whether he was as tall as I am or not. Q. Do you think he would weigh as much as you weigh ? A. I don’t know how much he would weigh.”

Sherrieh testified, in part, as follows:

“Had you ever seen Gammett before you saw him when he was shot. A. Yes. ... I saw him that same day between ten and eleven o’clock in the forenoon. Q. Who, if ■any one, was with him ? A. There were only two together. 'Q. Who was the other one? A. Well, I can’t tell. Q. ' You say you can’t tell ? A. Yes. . . . Q. Who was the other man that was with Gammett when you saw them in the morning, if you know? A. I saw Gammett, and I guess this fellow (referring to the defendant). Q. Now, tell the .jury why you think it was the defendant that you saw with Gammett ? A. That is my best, he was the same high and the same heavy. Q. Did you see the defendant’s face that morning? A. No; I did not see him very well.” Cross-examination : “Q. You did not see that man’s face that morning? A. Not quite.” Direct examination: “Q.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cobb v. Hartenstein
152 P. 424 (Utah Supreme Court, 1915)
State v. Hillstrom
150 P. 935 (Utah Supreme Court, 1915)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 P. 1149, 44 Utah 79, 1914 Utah LEXIS 7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hill-utah-1914.