People v. Popescue

• Decision Date: 09 October 1931
• Docket Number: No. 20711.,20711.
• Citation: 345 Ill. 142,177 N.E. 739
• Parties: PEOPLE v. POPESCUE et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

345 Ill. 142

177 N.E. 739

PEOPLE

v.POPESCUE et al.

No. 20711.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 18, 1931.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 9, 1931.

Error to Criminal Court, Cook County; Phillip J. Finnegan, Judge.

John Popescue and another, having been indicted for murder, pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to death, and they bring error.

Affirmed.Benjamin C. Bachrach, of Chicago (Wilbert F. Crowley and Wendell E. Green, both of Chicago, of counsel), for plaintiffs in error.

Oscar E. Carlstrom, Atty. Gen., and John A. Swanson, State's Atty., of Chicago (Edward E. Wilson and Grenville Beardsley, both of Chicago, and J. J. Neiger, of Rock Island, of counsel), for the People.

ORR, J.

John Popescue and Charles Rocco (herein called defendants) were indicted in the criminal court of Cook county for the murder of Courtney Merrill. When arraigned, both defendants, in the presence of their counsel, entered pleas of guilty. They were each advised by the court of the legal consequences of their pleas, and, after thus being admonished, they each persisted in their pleas of guilty, and such pleas were received and recorded. The trial judge then proceeded to examine witnesses as to the aggravation and mitigation of the offense as required by law (Smith-Hurd Rev. St. 1929, c. 38, § 732), and thereafter sentenced each of the defendants to death by electrocution. Motions for a new trial, in arrest of judgment, to vacate the sentences and for leave to withdraw the pleas of guilty, were all argued and denied, and the record was brought here for review by writ of error.

The error principally argued and relied upon by defendants for reversal is that the trial judge, after the pleas of guilty and before pronouncing sentence, heard the defendants themselves admit that they had committed another murder three hours before the crime charged in the indictment. It is urged that the hearing of this testimony was prejudicial to the defendants and beyond the scope of the court's authority under the statute.

The evidence heard by the trial judge after the pleas of guilty were entered consisted in part of the voluntary written confessions of the defendants, made and signed October[345 Ill. 144]31, 1930. These confessions were admitted in evidence by stipulation and read to the court without objection.

John Popescue in his confession, among other things, stated: ‘Rose and I rented one light housekeeping room at 2911 East Ninety-first street about a week ago. Charles Rocco, Rose and I slept in that room. On October 28, about 7:35 R. M., Charles Rocco and I were back of the Union Bank of South Chicago. Charles Rocco and I talked about where we were going to pick up a car; get somebody in a car by himself, tie him up and use his car with him in the back of it. We dressed up, and he took the gun and I took the knife and blackjack out of the dresser drawer. We got that other blackjack and the other gun out of places on the Dunes highway that was raided to-night. * * * Rocco said, ‘When the first one comes along with one person in it and stops we will nail him.’ * * * We seen a car drive up with one fellow in it and turn in the alley. We went right in after it. * * * At that time I had the dagger and the billie and Rocco had the 45 Colt revolver. I went up there as soon as he got out of the car. Charles was on the other side of the car. I told the man to get bank in the car. * * * When I told the man to get back in the machine he mumbled something and jumped at me. I was standing with the knife in the side, and when he jumped he just shoved himself up against it and started hitting me with both hands. I never saw Courtney Merrill prior to the 28th. At the time the dagger was in his side the handle was in my left hand. * * * He did not have anything in either of his hands. He started running up Houston avenue and hollered ‘Help!’ at least once. Rocco was on the other side of the car and came over to my side when the man got away from me. Rocco had the 45 Colt revolver in his hand. After I started running, Rocco fired a shot. We ran west in the alley. * * * We went upstairs to our room. I wiped the knife off. There was blood on it. I must have cut Mr. Courtney with it. I wiped it on a handkerchief out of my pocket in the presence of Rocco and Rose. Charles said, ‘You got some blood on there.’ I said, ‘I know it,’ and wiped it off. I think Charlie said something about ‘they won't even hold up their hands any more.’ * * * The dagger is Charlie Rocco's. He bought it a week or two ago for a little under two dollars. Rose was with him at the time. She asked him why he bought it. He said something about he got something now he could use without making any noise. * * * We were going to use Merrill's car, tie him up and put him in the back. We had a clothes line cut in two pieces to tie his hands and feet. We had a place picked out to hold up that night. * * * It was understood that after we got through the job we would bring Merrill back here—leave him in the car on some side street. We contemplated another job that night with that automobile—a barbecue stand on the Dunes highway. Rocco and I talked about it. The gun was loaded and Rocco had another round in his pocket. They were 45-caliber bullets.'

Charles Rocco's confession in part is as follows: ‘I live at 2911 East Ninety-First, where I was arrested with John Popescue and Rose. John and Rose rented the room. I paid for it. The three of us occupied it. On October 28, 1930, after supper, about a quarter after five, I left the room and took with me my 45 Army Colt and three pieces of rope. I used my own rope last night in tying a cab driver on the highway in Indiana. * * * After leaving the room we walked around, talking. I says, ‘It is about time you got down to business and get a car pretty short and shooting into Gary.’ * * * Another man pulled into the alley at the garage next to the bank. I asked John if he wanted to make it, and he said ‘O. K.,’ and he run down to it and I covered the right side while he was covering the left, and John and the owner of the car were in a tangle. When John first approached he said to the man, ‘Stick ‘em up!’ The man just started hollering ‘Help!’ I saw the tangle when it was all over—when the man got away and started running to Houston. I told John to go ahead and beat it, and I stood around, fired a shot alongside of the bank, and it kept the crowd of three of four people across the street from coming into the alley. * * * At the time of the tangle I had this 45 Colt automatic in my hip. I drawed it after the man got away from John. It was loaded to the gills. I got this gun out of a booze joint—Sam's place, on a dirt road about fifteen miles from Michigan City—a little more than six weeks ago, in a stick-up. Buster and Speck were with me, and besides the revolver I got about $75 and three pints of Old Log Cabin booze. Those bullets on the table were taken from me. I turned over eight 45-bullets to the police. Six were taken from the gun. The gun was in my hip when I was arrested in my house at 2911, pretty close to midnight. After Popescue and I left the scene of the stabbing we zigzagged. We went west in one alley, when north to our right in another alley, then west in the next alley to Commercial avenue. * * * We both stayed at home that night. We slept it off. Yesterday we left the room about noontime and started hiking into Whiting. I thought I shot Merrill.'

Rose Mankowski, otherwise known as Rose Miller, testified, without objection, for the people, in part as follows: ‘On October 28, 1930, Charles Rocco and John Popescue were in the house at supper time. I ate with them. They left together about 6:30 in the evening. Before they left they planned to go out and raid some place. Rocco said they would go out and get a car in town that evening and go out to Gary, and they were going to walk up to some man that was all alone and put him in the back seat and take him and his car with them. Popescue said, ‘All right; we will.’ Rocco took a 45-gun from the drawer and put it inside his trousers, at the belt. Rocco took a rope. John took a stiletto and blackjack. * * * About eight o'clock, when they came back, they didn't come back as usual—they came up the other steps. * * * I saw Popescue wipe the stiletto on the sanitary pad, and then Charlie walked over to Johnny and said, ‘Oh, you did, didn't you?’ and he said, ‘Yes, I had to; I could not help it; he came up towards me.’ I saw the revolver. Rocco carved a mark on the gun.' She was asked, ‘What did he say, if anything, at that time?’ and answered, ‘Well, ‘That is two, now.’ And he said—' At this point objection was made for the first time and witness was taken from the courtroom and an argument ensued. Upon conclusion of the argument, counsel for defendants suggested to the court that it was bad practice to permit such evidence ‘even on a plea of guilty; however, after your honor hears it you can order it stricken, if you see fit.’ No further examination of the witness on this point was attempted.

John Popescue, in addition to his confession, testified in his own behalf. He was interrogated in chief by his counsel, Crowley. In his oral testimony he repeated substantially all that he had stated in his written confession. After he had again detailed the facts relating to this murder, he testified, while he was still on the stand in his own behalf, as follows: ‘I was arrested between eleven and twelve by Anderson and other officers. They took from me this pearl-handled revolver, this pearl-handled knife and the small blackjack. I was taken to the police station and made a statement to the police officers. I heard the statement read. It was true at the time I made it. I understand fully that I am pleading guilty to the charge of murder.’ On cross-examination he testified among other things: ‘I did not intend to stab Mr. Merrill. I carried the dagger for a weapon. My original intention was to put him in the bank...