People v. Lew Hoe

This is an appeal by the defendant from a judgment upon a verdict- of a jury finding him guilty of murder. Appellant’s statement of facts fairly summarizes the outstanding features of the record, which are:

Lum Wing Lock, the deceased, lived in a room on the second floor of a building on Grant Avenue in San Francisco, California. Another room close by was occupied by his son, Lum Sing Gum, and a companion, Mock Jim. In another room, No. 35, upon the same floor, lived the defendant and appellant. At about 6 o’clock on the morning of March 8, 1924, the deceased was shot while ne was in a kitchen upon the same floor, but at a little distance' down the hall from the room of the deceased. This was a community kitchen and not directly connected either with the sleeping-room of the deceased or of the appellant.

The deceased was shot twice in the back, the bullets penetrating the abdomen and passing through the body. The weapon with which the shooting was done was held so close to the body of the deceased as to leave powder burns upon his clothing. He died within a few hours.

Mock Jim, the young Chinese who occupied the same room with Lum Sing Gum, the son of the deceased, testified…