The herald., 1897-10-27
A GRAND MIX-UP
|0f Evidence in a San Pedro Battery
Case-Jury Disagrees


A charge of battery, preferred by
Virginia Ruiz against J. w. Davis of
San Pedro, was aired in Justice Youngs
court yesterday afternoon and resulted
in disagreement by the jury.
The few matters of interest in the case
over which there was no contest were
that Davis wife, whose name is Vir-
ginia, also, met Miss Ruiz, a rather good
looking Spanish girl of about Is, on
train near San Pedro. The two became
friendly and Mrs. Davis invited the girl
to her home.
That was two years ago and, since
then, Miss Ruiz has lived at the Davis
home, except when she was working.
until the day of the alleged battery. On
the night of the 18th of last month Miss
Ruiz went to meeting of the Salvation
army in San Pedro, and the evidence
from that point on is what made the
jury disagree.
Miss Ruiz said she returned home at
$3.50 o'clock, and got into the house by
way of the rear door, retiring imme-
diately. The next morning Mrs. Davis
called her between 6 and o'clock and
then entered her room, ordering her to
pack her trunk and get out of the house.
While Mrs. Davis was in the room and
she was dressing and packing her trunk
Davis entered and said to his wife,
You hold her and I'll hit her." Mrs.
Davis did not attempt to hold her. and
he struck her in the face. When she
put her hands before her face he struck
her under the chin and on the forehead.
He also lifted her partly from the floor
by the ears and hair. afterward clutch
ing her by the throat and saying,
Don't scream She was very dizzy,
her left eye was black, there was a
scratch back of her left ear and her face
was bruised and swollen. Where Davis
had grasped her by the thoat there was
a big lump. She stumbled back and fell
on a bed and, when Davis had left the
room, she dressed and left the house.
During the trouble she had neither shoes
nor stockings on, and her clothes We're
not buttoned.
Mrs Rose Arce, the girls aunt, cor
her as to her injuries, which
she saw within a few hours after the
trouble.
DR.. w. A. Weldon of San Pedro read
a memorandum of injuries which he
found on the person of Miss Ruiz, and
his written account tailed very closely
with Miss Ruiz's testimony.
Then came the defendant and his wife
and told radically different story. Ac-
cording to their testimony Miss Ruiz
did not return from the Salvation army
meeting till about 10 o'clock, and she
climbed through a window because the
doors, including the rear one, were all
locked. The next morning Mrs. Davis
was demonstrating with her about COM
ing home so late, and was ordering her
out of the house when Miss Ruiz at
tackled her with a walnut stick about a
foot long. Mrs. Davis protected herself
with a slipper, and just then Davis ap
peared. After scuffle he subdued the
girl and she fell over the tray of her
trunk, which lay on the floor, and fell
on the bed. Davis did not use any more
force than he thought was absolutely
necessary to keep the girl from hurting
his wife. Mrs. Davis admitted she
struck the girl with the slipper while
they We're quarreling over the time Miss
Ruiz got home the evening before, but
claimed she had a right to punish her
for her falsehood.
A lot of questions which, it was hoped
would clear the matter up only made
it denser, and the jury was out from A
to $3.50 o'clock yesterday evening and
were then discharged, not having been
able to agree.
Davis trial was transferred from San
Pedro to Compton, where he was found
guilty. The judgment of conviction was
set aside and q new trial ordered and a
change of venue taken to Los Angeles