People v. Buice

• Decision Date: 21 October 1964
• Docket Number: Cr. 9400
• Citation: 230 Cal.App.2d 324,40 Cal.Rptr. 877
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Robert Louis BUICE et al., Defendants and Appellants.

Page 877

40 Cal.Rptr. 877

230 Cal.App.2d 324

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Robert Louis BUICE et al., Defendants and Appellants.

Cr. 9400.

District Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4, California.

Oct. 21, 1964.

Hearing Denied Dec. 17, 1964.

Miller & Malone, Loren Miller, and Earl C. Broady, Los Angeles, for defendants and appellants.

Stanley Mosk and Thomas C. Lynch, Attys. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Gilbert F. Nelson, Deputy Atty. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

KINGSLEY, Justice.

At about 11 p. m. on April 27, 1962, Frank Tomlinson and Stanley Kensic, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, were on routine patrol in the vicinity of 57th Street and Broadway in the City of Los Angeles. Both officers saw two Negro men (later identified as Monroe Jones and Fred Jingles) standing at the rear of a parked Buick automobile with its trunk open exhibiting clothing. Due to the high rate of burglaries in this area, the officers' suspicions were aroused when they saw two men in possession of a number of suits at that location at that hour of the night. The officers then pulled their vehicle in behind the parked car, got out of their car and observed that the trunk of the parked Buick contained a number of men's suits on hangers. The officers then inquired as to who owned the automobile and were told that it belonged to 'Brother Hardy over at the Temple,' with one of the men nodding toward the Muslin Temple located at 56th Street and Broadway.

The officers then separated the two suspects, with Officer Tomlinson taking his man to the rear of the Buick, while Officer Kensic took his suspect and started toward the front of the Buick for further interrogation. It was then that Officer Tomlinson observed some kind of scuffle between Officer Kensic and his suspect, whereby the suspect had pushed Officer Kensic. Officer Tomlinson then ordered his suspect to remain where he was and proceeded to give assistance to his partner. The suspect who had been left by Officer Tomlinson sprang upon Officer Kensic. When Officer Tomlinson tried to assist Officer Kensic, someone grabbed him and knocked him to the ground. Officer Kensic, then trying to aid Tomlinson, started to draw his revolver from its holster but was hit in the back of the head and knocked unconscious. However, before losing consciousness he remembered having his revolver taken away from him. At this point Officer Tomlinson recalled seeing eight to ten Negroes surrounding him and being beaten and kicked by these men. He also recalled hearing someone shout, 'Let's get them, Brothers,' and 'Let's kill them, Brothers.'

While this affray was taking place, William Tribble, a special officer of the Los Angeles Police Department, who had been driving in this vicinity, noticed a struggle taking place between two uniformed police officers and a group of Negro men. One of the officers (Kensic) was laying in the intersection with men jumping up and down on him as well as kicking him. Tribble immediately parked his car, took out a 38 revolver, loaded it, and entered the scene of the struggle. Tribble identified himself as a special officer and called out, 'Leave these officers alone,' and fired one shot in the air. The group of Negroes then removed their attention from the officers and advanced on Tribble. As the group continued to advance upon him, he warned the group Officer Kensic, who had been knocked unconscious at the front of the Buick, returned to consciousness after a few minutes. He recalled hearing some chanting by the Negroes as well as shots going off. He got to his feet and went after a man he suspected was the person who might have taken his gun. He caught that man and began to search him for his gun. Suddenly he was struck in the face, beaten, kicked and again rendered unconscious. Officer Kensic was able to identify Robert Buice as the man who struck him in the face and forced him to the pavement.

                to stop or he would shoot.  The group, not heeding Tribble's admonition, Tribble, at this time, being backed up against his car, fired a shot, hitting one of his assailants. 1  Some more shots were then fired, with one of them striking him in the arm, and he also saw Officer Tomlinson grab his shoulder and fall.  The shot that hit Officer Tomlinson went through the tip of [230 Cal.App.2d 330] his elbow, breaking his arm.  Officer Tomlinson identified defendant Charles Zeno as one of the men who was striking him
                

Another officer who participated in this portion of the affray was off-duty officer Paul Kuykendall. Officer Kuykendall testified that he was driving on Broadway when he observed a crowd of eight to ten men striking and kicking a police officer at the intersection of Broadway and 57th Street. The officer being beaten was Kensic. He then put in a call, 'Officer needs help.' Kuykendall then ran to the aid of Kensic, who was lying in the intersection being beaten and kicked. Officer Kuykendall then admonished Kensic's assailants to 'Stop kicking him [Kensic] or I will kill you.' Kensic's assailants then turned their attention to Kuykendall who went immediately to the radio telephone in the police vehicle and put in a call for police assistance.

Within thirty seconds or so Officers Weese and Anderson responded to the call. Upon their arrival Officer Kuykendall pointed out the men who had been beating Officer Kensic. By this time these men had turned and were running in the direction of the Muslim Temple or Mosque at 56th Street and Broadway. Officers Anderson, Weese and Kuykendall took after these men. When Kuyhendall was in the vicinity of the Temple he saw defendant Arthur Coleman struggling with an officer named Lee Logan over possession of a gun. He struck Coleman over the head with his blackjack. However, when Coleman was subdued defendant Jingles joined this affray and made a flying tackle on Officer Logan.

Meanwhile, Officers Anderson and Weese pursued the men they had been chasing to the door of the Temple. Officer Anderson grabbed one of the men and ordered the rest to 'Stop where you are.' At this point about ten to twelve men came out of the Temple building, surrounded Officer Weese, and began chanting 'Why, why.' Officer Weese, with gun drawn, ordered the men to 'freeze.' It was then that someone struck Officer Weese, his baton was taken from him, and he was beaten with it. Officer Anderson was kicked and felt his gun being taken from its holster and was then struck in the head by what he thought was the glass neck of a five-gallon water bottle. Officer Weese, able to free himself with the aid of Officer Logan, responded to the aid of his partner. He fired three or four shots in quick succession as the attack continued. As a result, one man was killed (Ronald Stokes) and another had his spine severed (William Rogers).

When the altercation outside the Temple was just about over, Officer Weese saw Officer Anderson lying on the sidewalk in a rather dazed condition. Blood was running down his forehead and one of his attackers was still choking him. Officer Weese went over and hit the attacker on the head with the barrel of his gun and the man collapsed to the sidewalk unconscious.

During this wild melee, Officer Anderson was able to identify Elmer Craft, Robert About thirty or forty seconds after this altercation outside the Temple had ended, Officer Weese entered the Temple with another officer. Once inside he observed that a large group of men were huddled together in a cloakroom. At the instance of the other officer ordering the men to raise their hands and face the wall, another police officer (Reynolds) crawled out from the huddle of men. Officer Weese identified three of the men inside the Temple as Randolph Sidle, Charles Zeno and Raymond Willey, although he did not observe them doing anything.

Buice, Monroe Jones and Nathaniel Rivers. Officer Weese was able to identify William Rogers as the man who was wielding the baton and striking Officer Anderson, Robert Rogers as the one who struck Anderson with the neck of the water bottle, Arthur Coleman as the man who had jumped on his back, and Ronald Stokes as the man who was killed when he advanced against Weese in a 'choking motion.'

Officer Lee Logan, in part, corroborated the testimony of Officer Weese in that he saw Officer Weese being choked and in defense of Officer Weese struck the man with his gun barrel and went to the aid of Officer Anderson, who was being beaten by a man wielding a baton. As he did so, another man struck him in the mouth with a baton and split his lip. He then fired two shots at this man, and when another assailant attempted to grab his gun, he shot the man in the chest. During this melee, he was assisted by Officer Kuykendall and Officer Logan. Officer Logan testified that the man hitting Officer Anderson with the baton was Robert Rogers, and the man who grabbed his gun and who was shot was Arthur Coleman.

Officer Reynolds testified that he responded to a radio call, and arrived at the Muslim Temple. He observed some officers engaged in a struggle with a group of men in front of the Muslim Temple. Upon seeing some of the men enter the Temple, he followed them in. Once inside, he was grabbed by a number of men who said, 'Get him,' then he heard some more words to the effect 'Kill him,' 'Take him in this room here.' He was then forced into a cloakroom, where he fell against a water jar causing it to fall to the floor and break. After being forced into the cloakroom, he heard some officer say 'Get up out of there or I'm going to start shooting.' His assailants then released him, and as he crawled out of this group of attackers he observed that there were several officers holding the group at bay with drawn pistols.

Officer Reynolds was able to identify Troy Augustine, Raymond Willey, Nathaniel Powers, Robert Buice, Randolph Sidle, Charles Zeno, Arthur Coleman, Jr., and Elmer Craft as the men who had forced...