United States v. Brown, No. 23662.

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM
• Citation: 436 F.2d 702
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles B. BROWN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Docket Number: No. 23662.
• Decision Date: 23 December 1970

436 F.2d 702 (1970)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Charles B. BROWN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 23662.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

December 23, 1970.

436 F.2d 703

Richard J. Cohen (argued), Sausalito, Cal., for defendant-appellant.

Eric A. Nobles, Asst. U. S. Atty., (argued), Robert L. Meyer, U. S. Atty., David R. Nissen, Chief, Criminal Div., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee.

Before MERRILL and DUNIWAY, Circuit Judges, and SWEIGERT, District Judge.^*

PER CURIAM:

Defendant-Appellant, Charles B. Brown, along with one Willard, Conley and Wright, was charged with violations of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (d) — Armed robbery of a Federal Credit Union. Conley and Wright pleaded guilty. Defendant-Appellant, after severance of his case from that of Willard, was tried before the Court without a jury and found guilty as charged.

The government's theory of the case was that appellant met with the three other defendants in a Los Angeles pool hall, that the four proceeded to Bell, California, in a Volkswagen of which appellant was the driver and that, while appellant waited in the get-away Volkswagen, parked in an alley behind the Credit Union, the three others committed the armed robbery.

On this appeal appellant contends (1) that the evidence adduced at his trial was insufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in that the government failed to show that appellant had knowledge of any intent to commit a robbery; (2) that defendant's arrest was the result of improper police detention and interrogation without probable cause and, therefore, illegal.

The evidence presented by the government was substantially as follows:

Witness Matlock testified that on June 18, 1969 about 1 p.m., while walking down an alley (which was in the rear of the Credit Union located in the vicinity of Gage and Gifford Streets, Bell, California) she observed a Volkswagen with four Negro men inside; that, passing the area again about 20 minutes later, this time driving her car, she noticed that the Volkswagen was gone.

Witness Ward testified that on the same day, about 1:15 p.m., while in the living room of her home, located at the corner of Otis and Randolph Streets, she noticed a Volkswagen parked outside her house and saw three persons in or around the car, all Negroes, one of whom, the driver, got out, looked under the hood of the car, then got in the driver's seat and made a U turn towards Otis Street; that she then reported to the police what she had seen.

Witness Grizzle, manager of the Credit Union, testified that on the same day, about 1:30 p.m., while he was lunching at the rear of the Credit Union, two Negroes with guns came around the back and ordered him to the front of the building where a third Negro was holding office employees and some customers at bay with a gun in the perpetration of a robbery.

Witness East, an officer of the Bell Police Department, testified that on the same day at about 1:18 p.m., he was responding to the area of Otis and Randolph Streets on a report to the effect that there were three male Negroes at the intersection, wearing gloves, and that they had removed something from the engine compartment of their vehicle and had then driven southbound on Otis; that he observed a beige Volkswagen parked in the alley behind the Credit Union; that, as the officer approached, the driver started the car westward down the alley, made a U turn,...