People v. Servillo
People v. Servillo
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of robbery in the first degree.
Appellant (with two codefendants) was charged in an information with a violation of section 211, Penal Code, in that he, together with Leonard Dye and Neil Servillo, did on July 1, 1961, rob Vincent O’Connor (Bashford Liquors) of $197.25 in money; it was further charged that at the time of the commission of the offense said defendants were armed with a deadly weapon, namely a .32 caliber Colt automatic pistol. Leonard Dye pleaded guilty to robbery in the first degree and the court found that he was not personally armed
Appellant’s only contention is that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to support the verdict and judgment.
A résumé of some of the facts is as follows: O’Connor and his wife were in their liquor store located at 607 East Compton Boulevard in Compton, at about 11 p. m. on Saturday, July 1, 1961. Willow Street is immediately to the west of the liquor store running generally north and south and intersecting Compton Boulevard. Appellant was the manager of an apartment building (apparently in Eagle Rock) where he lived with his wife. David Gray and Leonard Dye lived in one of the apartments. Gray, Dye, Neil Servillo and appellant had been together on the evening of July 1. They left the apartment in an automobile (two-door Plymouth station wagon) which appellant had borrowed for use that night. Appellant was the driver. The automobile was driven to the Compton area by appellant to a point close by the 0 ’Connor Liquor Store and apparently parked on Compton Boulevard. Gray entered the liquor store with a gun in his hand and ordered the owners to get behind the counter and to “strip the register.” During this time the gun was in sight and the owners did as directed and placed the money which was in the register, consisting of about $197.25, in a paper sack and handed it to Gray. In compliance with a demand from Gray the owners lay down on the floor behind the counter. The establishment apparently was wired with some sort of silent alarm system for use in such an emergency and an alarm did go out to the police of the robbery which was then and there taking place. Officer Pool and his partner, at or
Appellant talked to some of the officers concerning what he was doing and why he was in the area. At the trial he took the witness stand and made several contradictory statements, and further stated that he had no idea he was being pursued by the police. He further stated that he told Gray to throw the gun down when Gray pointed it at one of the officers.
Under the circumstances of this ease the jury was clearly entitled to believe that appellant was in the course of flight from an armed robbery, and that he was directly involved in it. This was no ordinary simple departure from a liquor store at 11 o’clock at night. Appellant was trying his best to outrun the police officers and failed in his efforts because of the alertness of the officers. It is difficult to imagine a course of conduct which would more clearly point up or indicate a guilty mind. (See People v. Santora, 51 Cal.App.2d 707 [125 P.2d 606]; People v. Flannelly, 128 Cal. 83 [60 P. 670]; People v. Lenahan, 38 Cal.App.2d 39 [100 P.2d 515]; People v. Campos, 10 Cal.App.2d 310 [52 P.2d 251]. See also People v. Spivak, 166 Cal.App.2d 796, 811 [334 P.2d 44]; People v. Gautt, 190 Cal.App.2d 355, 357 [11 Cal.Rptr. 805].)
The falsehoods, deceptions, inconsistent and conflicting statements made by appellant as to matters relevant to the issues in the case showed definitely a consciousness of guilt. (See People v. Smith, 184 Cal.App.2d 606, 610 [7 Cal.Rptr. 607]; People v. Stanley, 162 Cal.App.2d 416, 420 [327 P.2d 973]; People v. Peete, 54 Cal.App. 333, 352-353 [202 P. 51].)
The jury apparently did not believe the appellant in what he told them with reference to the episode in question. It was the province of the jury to determine who was telling the truth.
The judgment is affirmed.
Wood, P. J., and Lillie, J., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.