Dead Men Ride(1971) Extra Quality

Sgt. Hirsch, of the Eastern District Police Station, testified that he arrived "between 4:00 and 4:05 A.M." at 1216 East Madison Street on October 8, 1960 to investigate a shooting. He first went *442 into the "middle room first floor" where he found a male "apparently dead". He could not recall which witnesses he spoke with but suggests that "possibly" he spoke with Miss Williams, Mary Louise Whitby and Dorothy Gray. He did not recall speaking with Leon Camphor or William Smith (also known as Buckwheat). He did recall that Buckwheat was shot in the leg and was removed by ambulance some time later to Johns Hopkins Hospital. One of the reasons cited for not questioning Buckwheat was that he "had numerous other witnesses who witnessed the actual shooting itself, so I wouldn't be too concerned about questioning Buckwheat at that time". He said that he probably spoke to two or three witnesses. From them he elicited the information that Eddie White, who lived at 1213 East Madison Street, had entered 1216 East Madison Street, had shot Peter Rabbit (later found to be James Perry Noble) with a shotgun and had returned across the street to 1213 East Madison Street where he entered the house with the shotgun, and was not seen to have left (H.C. 28).[4] Dorothy Gray was a previous informant and was well known to Hirsch. He did not know White personally or by reputation. He testified that the viewing of the body and the interviewing of witnesses took "two or three minutes." Hirsch did not attempt to find out what kind of an interest White had in the premises at 1213 and did not recall, although he knew at the time, that Dorothy Gray lived at 1213. Three officers, or more, in addition to Hirsch, went to the front door of 1213 and covered for each other. Hirsch attempted to gain voluntary entrance by knocking and there was no response. After kicking open the front door he and another officer entered, covered by the pistols of their two companions, who then entered covered by Hirsch and the first entrant. A room-by-room search was conducted. Hirsch did not recall breaking two bedrooms on the second floor but stated that quite possibly this was done in the course of the search which was directed only to places in which a person could hide. No search was made in drawers or other small places. In the course of the search the officers looked behind a door in the middle room of the first floor where a person might hide. They found no men, but did discover a shotgun. This shotgun was taken from the premises by Hirsch because "it was evident to me that it was the weapon that was used in the homicide and I figured it was my duty to seize it as evidence." The search took between five and ten minutes.

Dead Men Ride(1971)

After Hirsch had returned to 1216, a call was received from the radio dispatcher saying that a colored male had telephoned in that he had just shot a man at 1216 E. Madison Street, and was returning to the scene to give himself up. "A short period of time" after the call was received, White returned. Hirsch could not estimate how long after the call was received White returned. Hirsch's report indicated, however, that it was at "approximately 4:30". White returned by taxi cab which stopped "somewhere convenient to 1216" but Hirsch did not recall actually seeing the cab, as he was inside and did not actually participate in the arrest. While he did recall the taking of the picture showing White and the shotgun, he did not remember whether he asked White to point to the shotgun. According to Hirsch, White, on the scene, admitted shooting Noble and Buckwheat, that the shotgun was his, and that it was the one he had used. His statement at the scene was substantially similar to the typed statement (H.C. 221). Hirsch did not recall the sequence in which these statements were made but testified that *443 White said he had shot Peter Rabbit and Buckwheat before Hirsch pointed to the gun (H.C. 53). An additional fact, recalled when he took the stand a second time, was that White was shown the dead body of Noble and identified it. White was on the premises "just long enough for us to get a cruising patrol there for transportation".

More generally, White testified that he always kept his room locked and he also recalled that he left it locked on the morning of October 8, 1960. No one else had a key besides White. The only way for anyone else to have entered was to break in. White testified that, prior to going to the police station, that he never mentioned killing someone but he might have told the police operator and the cab driver that he shot someone. He did not know until he reached the station house "to be frank with you, sir" that Noble was dead. Furthermore, he was not aware that the body was on the scene when he was in custody; but he did not really know whether it was, or not (H.C. 137).

The Ringo Kid is riding along the rang when he hears a gunshot and goes to investigate. He comes across a man standing over a dead body and gets the drop on him. Refusing to let the shooter go, the Kid searches the dead man and finds a warrant written by Marshal Cameron to arrest Buzzard Brady for murder and take him to Yuma prison. The Kid decides to finish the marshal's job despite the risk of himself being a wanted outlaw. The man he thinks as being Buzzard Brady tries to get away, questioning why an outlaw would take in another outlaw, but the Kid does not let up and forces Brady to surrender and mount his horse.

others were riding was stopped in Medford by two police officers. Shortly thereafter the officers discovered that the occupant of the right hand side of the front seat was dead, having been shot once in the right side of the head and three times in the left side of the chest. The officers also discovered an unfired derringer on the floor of the car behind the driver's seat, and a .38 special caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, which had been fired once, on the rear right hand seat. A pathologist later estimated that the deceased, identified as Joseph Lanzi, died in the car sometime between 3 and 4 A.M. from the wounds described above. The head wound had been inflicted by the Smith & Wesson revolver and the chest wounds by a Harrington & Richardson revolver which was discovered sometime afterward buried in the vicinity of where the car stopped. Before the officers' suspicions were aroused, however, both the defendant, who had been sitting behind the driver in the back seat, and the driver, one Carmen Gagliardi, had left the scene. The other occupant, Frank Oreto, was arrested by the officers after their discovery that the fourth man in the car was dead.

2. Officer Carr testified that the defendant told a false story about the dead man in the car. The Commonwealth introduced this evidence to show consciousness of guilt. Cross-examination of the officer showed that he had previously testified at a probable cause hearing that it was Oreto who told this falsehood. Even if I were inclined to follow the rationale employed by the majority I would feel obliged to hold that the requisite "particularized need" was established and consequently would be unable to conclude that the judgment in this case should be affirmed. See Commonwealth v. Carita, 356 Mass. 132, 141-142; Commonwealth v. Doherty, 353 Mass. 197, 215-216 (dissenting opinion). Compare Commonwealth v. Kiernan, 348 Mass. 29, 36. 041b061a72