People v. Chiaro

• Citation: 93 N.E. 931,200 N.Y. 316
• Parties: PEOPLE v. CHIARO.
• Decision Date: 03 January 1911
• Court: New York Court of Appeals

200 N.Y. 316

93 N.E. 931

PEOPLE

v.CHIARO.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Jan. 3, 1911.

Appeal from Supreme Court, Trial Term, Onondaga County.

Rocco Chiaro was convicted of murder in the first degree, and he appeals. Affirmed.Thomas Woods, for appellant.

George H. Bond, for the People.

COLLIN, J.

The defendant on Sunday, January 30, 1910, caused the death of William F. Keene by shooting him with a revolver. At about 6 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, the defendant, said Keene, and William F. Marsh were in the yard of the Warner-Quinlan Company at Syracuse, N. Y. Defendant was in the employ of that company as a laborer, Keene as a teamster and watchman at the yard, and Marsh as a foreman and watchman at the yard. The defendant asked Marsh, who as night watchman was about to take the place of Keene as day watchman, to let him watch that night, and Marsh replied that the company did not allow any Italian to watch. A friendly conversation consisting of several sentences then ensued between defendant and Marsh in the presence of Keene, at the close of which defendant for a reason not apparent said to Marsh that he was a liar, prefixing the appellation with an oath. Thereupon Marsh ordered the defendant to leave the yard, and, the defendant not complying or moving, took the defendant by the shoulder, and led him toward the gateway leading from the yard into the street. As they came near the gateway, the defendant protested against going out of the yard. Marsh then said to him, ‘I have a notion to smash your damned face for you,’ grasped him with both hands, shook him so that his cap fell off, told him to pick it up, which he did, and then said to him, ‘You get out of the yard, and stay out, and don't you come to work to-morrow.’ The defendant walked through and beyond the gateway into the street 10 or 15 feet. Marsh thereupon walked back into the yard, and after passing through the distance of about 30 feet heard some one behind him running. He turned about and saw the defendant about 15 feet from him pointing a revolver at his head, and heard him say, ‘Hands up, you son of a bitch. Do I go to work to-morrow?’ Keene, who was standing 30 feet or thereabouts from defendant, said to him as he was pointingthe revolver at Marsh, ‘Put up your gun,’ whereupon defendant pointed the revolver towards Keene and said, ‘You hands up,’ and Keene obeyed. Marsh looked at defendant, said to him, ‘What in hell is the matter with you?’ walked to him, took him by the shoulder, defendant having put the pistol in his overcoat pocket, faced him toward the gateway, and ordered him to go out. They walked through the 15 feet to the gateway, the defendant dropping slightly behind Marsh, and, as they were in the gateway defendant said, ‘I kill you, son of a bitch,’ and twice shot Marsh in the back. Keene said, ‘For why you kill Willie Marsh?’ and defendant replying, ‘Yes, and you, too,’ fired into Keene the bullet which caused his death. The interval between the two shootings of Marsh was one second and between the last shooting of Marsh and the shooting of Keene was two seconds. The revolver used by defendant was through no disclosed reason or purpose placed by him in his pocket during the forenoon of that day. Until this occasion the relations between the parties had been uniformly and thoroughly friendly. The foregoing statement is based upon the evidence in behalf of the people. Inasmuch as the jury adopted with ample...