Barbee v. State

Marbury, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. On September 21, 1964, the appellant, William Barbee, was found guilty by a jury in the Criminal Court of Baltimore of assault with intent to murder and unauthorized use of an automobile. For these crimes, he was sentenced to serve fifteen years and four years consecutively, from May 16, 1957, in the Maryland Penitentiary. Appellant had been convicted and received identical sentences for the above crimes on May 16, 1957.

On May 15, 1959, we denied his application for leave to appeal under the Post Conviction Procedure Act. Barbee v. Warden, 220 Md. 647 , 151 A. 2d 167 . Subsequently, Barbee applied to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland for a writ of habeas corpus, which was denied. He then appealed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, which reversed the United States District Court and remanded the case for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus unless the State elected within a reasonable time to retry the appellant.

Barbee v. Warden, Maryland Penitentiary, 331 F. 2d 842 . The present appeal is from his convictions and sentences on his retrial by the State. On March 6, 1956, at about 5 :30 p.m., Officer Fischer was directing traffic at the intersection of North and Greenmount Avenues in Baltimore City. Traffic was unusually heavy because of a prevailing transit strike.

Allen Gross was riding in an automobile operated by Harold Tabb, a co-worker, when he spotted his 1953 Plymouth automobile, which had been stolen the previous day. Gross ran to Officer Fischer for assistance while Tabb went to the stolen car to prevent the operator from getting away. Officer Fischer apprehended the appellant