The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-24
AN ORDINARY QUARREL
oRENA-GUTrERREZ ROW HAD NO
BASIS OF PATRIOTISM
A Fine Of $40 Imposed Upon the Drug
gist-Struck Her Because She
Would Not Give UP His Hat

| A. Orena was fined $40 by Justice Owens
yesterday for having struck Mrs. Gutter
rez, a restaurant keeper, over the eye; but,
according to the statements of those who
witnessed the alleged battery and heard
the conversation previous to it, the fight
did not occur because of Mrs. Gutierrez
patriotic declarations or her refusal to re-
move the American flags from her house.
Mrs. Gutierrez was first examined, LIE
Compile Davis and J. r. Rush having been
retained to assist Deputy District Attorney
chambers in the prosecution, while w. j.
Hunsaker was the attorney for Orena. Mr..
Hunsaker entered plea of guilty last Sat
urday for Orena, but the evidence was
| heard yesterday. Mrs. Gutierrez claimed
that Orena' and Wash Covarrubias had
been at her restaurant on Wilmington
street the afternoon of the battery and
she and Orena had got into a quarrel be-
cause Orena had demanded that she re-
move some American flags from in front
Of her house, and in the melee Orena had
struck her three times in the face. In cor
| roboration of this the sonora showed her
face, which was decorated with a cut
above the left eye and some bruises below
the eye and on the left side Of the nose.
Wash Covarrubias testified for the de-
Tense. He denied that Orena had expressed
any reasonable sentiments or had said
anything to Mrs. Gutierrez in regard to the
removal of the flags. The woman had tried
to detain Orena when he started to catch
his train for Ventura, and in the scuffle
Orena had accidentally struck her in the
face.
Officer Stewart said that Mrs Gutierrez
| had told him that she and Orena had had
a scuffle because she had kept his hat.
and he had struck her in the face She
had not claimed to the witness that they
had got into fight over the flags in front
of her house.
DR.. MACEDONIAN testified that he had con .
versed with Orena a number of times on
the trouble with Spain long before HOSTILE
ties had broken out, and Orena had, like
the witness and many others, expressed
himself as opposed to interfering in the
Cuban rebellion. When the Maine was
blown up in Havana harbor, however,
Orena had declared that the United Staets
had ample cause for war and ought to blow
every Spanish ship out of the water. Ac-
cording to the witness, Orena had ex-
pressed none but the most loyal sentiments
toward America. II. M. Sale, the druggist.
testified briefly as to Orena's excellent
character, as did Juan Forster.
Orena took the stand and denied thy,
any quarrel or discussion of an.k sort re-
gardng the flags or the war with Spain
had arisen between himself and the wo-
man. He had started to leave the house
about 8 o'clock for the purpose of attend
ing to some business before taking the
Santa Barbara train for Ventura at 4
o'clock, and Mrs. Gutierrez snatched his
hat and tried to prevent his going. Orena
grabbed 1t from her, but she followed after
and caught hold of him at the front door,
He then requested her several times to let
go of him, but she had persisted in hang
| ing on, and he whirled around and in the
excitement of the moment struck her In
the face. He denied having struck her
| more than once.
This closed the testimony, and while JUS
tice Owens was considering the case Mr.
Davis stated to him that the complaining
| witness desired that he examine her face
| In order to see that she had been the recip-
| lent of at least three hard blows. This
the court declined to do saying that he
| had observed her countenance while she
was on the witness stand. Orena was
| fined $40, which was paid