The herald., 1897-08-20
Four Complaints to Send
Collins to Jail
EXTRA HELP TABooEc
T. R. ROGERS DEMANDS $40, o,ooC
FROM HIS MoTHER-IN-LAW
Heavy Crop in Antelope valley-Rap-
i'd Increase of Interest on a
Small Note-The st. Elmo

It appears to take more law to cinch
an offender when he halls from the clas-
sic retreat of Calabasas than would suf-
flee to send two ordinary men to the
states prison. Yesterday James B. Col
lins, who lives on an obscure wood claim
In the Calabasas wilds. was convicted
of wrong doing, but only after four dis
tinct complaints had been sworn out
against him.
About a week ago a complaint was
filed charging him with embezzling a
quantity of furniture, a rifle, crosscut
saws. ETC., but it developed that he hac
done nothing of the kind, but had stolen
the property outright. That necessi-
tated the filing of another complaint
wherein the charge was made petit lar
ceny. Yesterday the case came to trial
before Justice Young.
The property taken belonged to a man
named Smith, who had been friend of
Collins, and yesterday number of wit
nesses were put forward by the defense
to impeach Smiths testimony and char
acter. Each one, however, as he mounted
the witness stand testified that Smith
was q pretty decent kind of fellow and
Attorney Ladd, counsel for the defense,
finally said that he thought himself that
he thought Smith was not a bad sort.
When the case had been submitted the
court scored Collins quite severely and
wound up his lecture by sentencing him
to pay a fine of $50 or tarry for twenty
five days in the county Jail. Collins did
not hesitate, he took the days. He had
scarcely had time to take double tour
around the Jail corridor before he was
again brought up in the township court
on q complaint sworn to by Mrs. Mary
Bentley, charging him with petit larceny
in having stolen a crosscut saw, the
property of her husband. The testimony
developed the fact that the crime al
legged to have been committed was not
petit larceny, for the saw had been lent
to Collins and then he had made away
with it, The case was adjourned and
another complaint was made out charg-
ing embezzlement of a crosscut saw
valued at 80. On this charge Collins was
convicted and Saturday was set for SEN
tence.
There are two propositions Of law here
that are rather interesting. Collins has
been made to stand trial twice for the
one offense. True, he has not been tried
on the one charge, for the first complaint
charged petit larceny and the last one
embezzlement, but the offense which
was wrongly named in the first COM
plant was Identical with the offense e
properly named in the second. The mis-
take was not made by Collins. and
whether the plea twice in jeopardy"
will avail or not remains to be seen.
But If the conviction stands, difficulty
in the matter of sentence remains 1t is
supposed that court in passing SEN
tence always trys, so far as the law will
permit. to make the punishment fit the
crime" If Collins should be sentenced
to any number of days in Jail up to
twenty-five it would amount to no pun
ishment at all, for the sentence would
run concurrently with the twenty-five
days he has to serve on his first convic
ton. The only way in which punish
ment might be inflicted would be by the
courts sentencing him to, say a fine Of
S35 or thirty-five days in Jail. That would
practically mean that after his first sem
tence had been served he would serve ten
days on the second.