People v. Jackson, Cr. 7821

• Decision Date: 19 April 1962
• Docket Number: Cr. 7821
• Citation: 202 Cal.App.2d 569,21 Cal.Rptr. 44
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Andrew JACKSON, Jr., Defendant and Appellant.

Page 44

21 Cal.Rptr. 44

202 Cal.App.2d 569

The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Andrew JACKSON, Jr., Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 7821.

District Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 2, California.

April 19, 1962.

Rehearing Denied May 4, 1962.

Hearing Denied June 13, 1962.

Andre & Wood, Richard D. Wood, San Luis Obispo, for appellant.

Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty Gen., and George R. Roth, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.

FOX, Presiding Justice.

Appellant was convicted of two felonies: (1) violation of section 211, Penal Code (robbery of one Melvin Goodwin) and (2) violation of section 12021, penal Code (possession of a firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, appellant having previously been convicted of a felony.) Willie Howard Johnson was also convicted of the armed robbery charge but he has not appealed. Appellant has appealed from the judgment.

On February 13, 1961, Melvin Goodwin was working as a clerk in Harold Peterson's drive-in liquor store in Paso Robles. At approximately 8:30 p. m., when Goodwin was in the store alone, appellant and Johnson entered. Appellant was holding a gun, which he pointed directly at Goodwin.

At appellant's direction, Goodwin put all the paper money, consisting of one's, five's and ten's in a paper bag. It amounted to around one hundred dollars. Johnson picked up the paper bag and the money and walked out the front door. Appellant told Goodwin to lie down, which he did. Appellant then also left. The men were in the store only approximately three minutes. Prior to their coming in, Goodwin did not see or hear any car nor did he see any car leave the area.

After appellant and Johnson left, Goodwin called the Paso Robles Police Department. He told them that two colored men had held up the store. A patrolman came out to the store in approximately five minutes. He took down the description of the holdup men which Goodwin gave him. Ray Sturgeon, a reserve deputy sheriff and merchant patrolman, was present when Goodwin gave the descriptions to the police. He took down the descriptions as Goodwin was talking. The man carrying the gun (the appellant) was described as 5' 7"', 155 to 160 pounds, 35 to 40 years old, slender build, Negro male, wearing brown zippered jacket, dark suntan pants, possible moustache and also needed shaving. The other man was described as wearing a cap and some kind of jacket. His trousers were wash clothes, not levis. He appeared to be a little taller and heavier than appellant. The description information provided by Goodwin was given to the Sheriff's Office and to the Highway Patrol.

After receiving the description of the holdup men, Deputy Sturgeon searched the immediate area for the suspects but did not find them. He thereupon started checking his route again. At about 10:00 p. m. he reached Black's Richfield Station in Paso Robles. Just before he entered the station, two colored men in a 1955 green and white Cadillac drove in. They purchased four dollars worth of gas and paid for it with four one dollar bills. Appellant was the driver. He looked like he needed a shave. As Deputy Sturgeon reached the station, he observed the Cadillac just pulling away from the pumps with the two colored men in it. He had a conversation with the service station attendant, and then proceeded to follow the Cadillac on the freeway in order to obtain its license number. Upon obtaining the license number, Deputy Sturgeon went to the Police Department and turned it over to them. The license number was TAK 635. Sturgeon did not stop the Cadillac because he was by himself and not authorized to stop anyone. He did not have a radio in his car. Deputy Sturgeon told the officer at the desk the license number and let the police handle it. He believed '[i]t might be a suspect from the armed robbery.' The deputy described the car as a white top, green body, Cadillac, about a '55, and occupied by two colored men.

San Luis Obispo County Deputy Sheriffs Goodman and Scarborough were on night patrol duty, patrolling the south portion of the county from San Luis Obispo to the Santa Maria River. They were in a radio patrol car. At approximately 8:40 p. m. they received the first information relative to an armed robbery in Paso Robles from a broadcast from their station in San Luis Obispo from Radio Officer Albaugh. It contained the same description of the men that Goodwin had initially given the officers and which Deputy Sturgeon had taken down. At approximately 10:17 p. m. the officers received another radio call regarding the armed robbery. This broadcast gave the description of an automobile, a 1955 Cadillac coupe d'ville, white over green, California license TAK 635, occupied by two male Negro subjects believed to be the men involved in the armed robbery. The broadcast stated that the car was leaving Paso Robles. After receiving this call, the two officers went to the freeway and pulled off. At approximately 10:30 p. m., they observed two Negro men in a 1955 white over green Cadillac coupe d'ville, which they followed. The license was TAK 635. The Cadillac was stopped at Pismo Beach. Appellant, who was driving, immediately got out. Johnson was told three different times to get out before he emerged from the vehicle. He kept 'slouching under the front seat as if he was pushing something or putting something [underneath]--just making a motion, reaching down.' Appellant had a moustache and looked like he hadn't shaved that day. He had on a blue two-tone shirt, a little brown hat, khaki pants and black shoes. Johnson was wearing a little white leather cap, a gold three-quarter length jacket, black and grey striped sport shirt, black trousers and black shoes. When appellant and Johnson got out of the car, they were told they were under suspicion of armed robbery in Paso Robles. They were then placed under arrest and handcuffed. When Johnson got out of the car, he left the door open. Deputy Goodman noticed a paper bag protruding from under the seat. He reached down and picked it up. There was a loaded revolver in the bag. Search of the automobile disclosed a total of $97 in one's, five's and ten's. Some of these bills were found in the glove compartment, while others were folded up in the front ashtray on the dash. At the trial, the victim, Melvin Goodwin, believed the gun found in the bag on the floor of the car looked very much like the one used by appellant in the robbery. It was about the same size and definitely was the same color. Appellant, accompanied by Johnson, had purchased this gun in Bakersfield on November 19, 1960. Goodwin identified appellant and Johnson as the persons who had robbed him.

Appel...