Sturtevant

The indictment in this case contained two counts. The first count charged a violation of section 301 of the United States Criminal Code (18 USCA § 492), in that the three defendants named did, on August 16, 1928, on waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, willfully and corruptly east away and destroy the motorboat Ideal, to which two of the defendants belonged. The second count charged the three defendants with a conspiracy to violate the above section of the Criminal Code. A verdict of guilty was returned against two of the defendants, the third being acquitted, and, from the judgment on the verdict, this appeal was prosecuted.

It appears from the testimony that on the afternoon of August 15, 1928, the motorboat in question took on, at Point Reyes, on the California coast, a cargo consisting of 50 tierces of salmon, destined for Pittsburg, on the Sacramento river. The motorboat was thereafter lost, and on August 22, 1928, the appellant Peters, her master, made a report of the loss to his employer. The report stated that, about an hour out of Point Reyes, the motorboat struck a submerged object, possibly a floating pile or log; that she began…