People v. Frontera

Decision Date07 June 1915
Docket NumberNo. 216.,216.
PartiesPEOPLE v. FRONTERA.
CourtMichigan Supreme Court

186 Mich. 343
152 N.W. 1019

PEOPLE
v.
FRONTERA.

No. 216.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

June 7, 1915.


Error to Recorder's Court of Detroit; William F. Connolly, Judge.

Tony Frontera was convicted of manslaughter, and brings error. Affirmed.

Argued before BROOKE, C. J., and McALVAY, KUHN, STONE, OSTRANDER, BIRD, MOORE, and STEERE, JJ.

[152 N.W. 1019]

Chawke & Sloan, of Detroit, for appellant.

Grant Fellows, Atty. Gen., and Charles H. Jasnowski, Pros. Atty., and William M. Heston, Asst. Pros. Atty., both of Detroit, for the People.


OSTRANDER, J.

In the evening of June 6, 1913, shortly after 8 o'clock, two men, after some verbal hostilities, engaged in a fist fight in a street in Detroit, during the progress of which, after blows had been exchanged, one of them, the smaller man, shot and killed the other and fled. There were five witnesses who stood within a few feet of the men. One testified that the smaller man said, before shooting, ‘Stop, or I will shoot;’ one testified that he said, ‘I will shoot you;’ three testified that he said nothing. The slayer was seen to run east on Larned street, and between two houses, one of them being numbered 115 East Larned street. The police were present in a few moments, and in the house No. 115 found and arrested the respondent. He was identified by those who witnessed the affair. He is an Italian, and the man who was shot, named Dean, was an American. Informed against for murder, respondent was convicted of manslaughter, was denied a new trial, and was sentenced.

He complains that various errors were committed at the trial, and to understand his contentions it is necessary to say that, in addition to establishing the fact that a homicide had been committed, two principal issues were presented-one, that respondent was not the man who fired the shot; the other, that the homicide was justifiable. Four witnesses testified that they saw a man running east on Larned street, who turned in between the houses as above stated, and that respondent was not the man. Of these, one was an American and three were Italians-one a cousin of respondent, one a lifelong friend, and one had known him for 10 years. A brother-in-law and another roomer at No. 115 testified that respondent was in the house at the time of the shooting.

A witness for the people was Jacob Golden, a detective, one of two in charge of the case. Upon his cross-examination, counsel for respondent sought to learn from him whether he knew of persons who claimed to have any knowledge...

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