The herald., 1898-03-08
GREEN-EyED MONSTER
AND A DRUGGISTS pEsTLE ARE
A BAD COMBINATION
APOTHECARY VOECKEL'S CASE
He Is Found Guilty of Maliciously
Battering Frank Percy With
Pill Founder

II. G.. Voeckel, Main-street drugg1st,
was tried yesterday by a jury before
Justice Young on a charge Of battery. On
the 9th of last month he assaulted Frank
Percy with q marble-headed pestle on a
Santa Monica electric car, near Sherman.
Voeckel was Jealous of his wife, and fol-
lowed her about, spying upon her actions,
after she had left him. When he saw
Percy in company with Mrs. Voeckel on
the car he came to the conclusion right
away that something was wrong between
them, and he Immediately proceeded to tap
the other man on the head with his pro-
fessional instrument from behind, with
out saying anything.
The battery was amply proven by the
witnesses who saw 1t. Mr.. Voeckel while
on the stand did not deny that the assault
upon Percy had taken place. but he pre-
tended that he had been carried away by
his feelings, because he was satisfied that
the relations of Percy with his wife were
unchaste, and he furthermore said that
he had right TO lick him and would have
beaten him more If his pestle had not
broken. 1t was also attempted to. prove
that the defendant had been seized with
emotional insanity when he played a tattoo
upon the complaining witness head with
his pestle. During the trial 1t was learned
that the reason Mrs. Voeckel had left the
apothecary was because she had COM
menced suit for a divorce against him,
charging him with adultery 1t also trans
p!red that at the time of his outbreak he
was doing little detective work on his
own hook, to see If he could not get UP
cross-compaint against her.
The court took no stock in the tenn
porary insanity dodge or in the claim that
the battery was justified by the facts
ana ruled out all the evidence to that
effect introduced before the jury by the
defense. The attorneys for Voeckel tried
TO show by female neighbor that there
mad been some 'carryfngs on" between
Mrs Voeckel and Percy, and that she had
so informed the defendant. but such evil
dence was not allowed to go to the jury.
There was no argument. but the jury
was by the time it went out to deliberate
so mixed up on the evidence it had heard
and might consider and the evidence that
1t had likewise heard but must pay no at
tention to- that after three quarters Of an
hour 1t returned for further Instructions
These were given, but by the discouraged
manner in which the Jurors struggled out
it was easy to see that they had derived
no comfort from them.
Nevertheless, after being out an other
hour they came to the unanimous conclu-
sion that when Voeckel said he had past ed
Percy over the head with his pocket pestle
and only refrained when the instrument
broke. he must be guilty of battery and
they made 1t so. Justice Young will SEN
tence the bellicose pillmaker this morn
ing a 9:30
Underlying all this there is a question
of property which IS going to cut an i'm
portant figure during the trial of the di-
vorce suit. Mrs. Voeckel win ask for
considerable share of the property of her
husband. which is said to be in the neigh
borhood of $4,000. 1t is therefore essential
that he, on his side, should set up
cross-compaint, otherwise there is pros
pect mat the superior court might award
considerable slice of it to the wife-a pro-
ceeding which is not unusual in similar
suits. 'r