Eley v. State

Per Curiam. Pericles Eley, the appellant, was convicted of robbery in a trial in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, Judge Meyer M. Cardin presiding without a jury. He complains that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. ²³² Jessie J. Williams, age 56, a driver for the Checker Cab Company, testified that on June 3, 1967, at approximately 2:30 A.M., Pericles Eley and a female companion entered his taxicab. They were driven to the vicinity of Patterson Park Avenue and Mura Street, where the female, later identified as Gladys Harvey, left the cab and told the driver to take Eley to the Y.M.C.A. located on Franklin Street.

She also told the driver that Eley would pay the fare, and that she had given him $10.00. On the way to the Y.M.C.A. Williams picked up two additional passengers along the route, whose destination was stated to be Carey Street. Williams testified that he proceeded toward the Y.M.C.A. and that at that location Eley told him that he did not have any money and asked him to wait while he went to his room and got the money. Williams told Eley that he would not wait, but that he would take the other two passengers to Carey Street and then return with Eley to the Y.M.C.A. After dropping off the other passengers and returning to the Y.M.C.A., Williams accompanied Eley to his room.

Williams stated that he accompanied Eley as a matter of standard procedure followed by most taxicab drivers, at the suggestion of the police department when dropping off non-paying passengers at multi-family or commercial dwelling units. Upon entering the room Eley found a ten dollar bill, gave it to Williams, and requested $8.00 change. Williams testified that when he went to count the change, he was shoved by Eley and fell across a bed. Eley then jumped on Williams, choked him, and robbed him of over $30.00 in one dollar bills.

The men struggled for approximately ten minutes, until Williams was exhausted. Eley threatened to use a knife on Williams and demanded more money. Williams said that he had an additional $35.00 at his home, whereupon Eley demanded that it be obtained. The two men then proceeded to Williams’ home, where Williams was able to alert his wife and request that she call the police who arrived soon thereafter.

Officer Charles Von Nordeck of the Baltimore City Police Department testified that he arrived at the home of Williams at 3:53 A.M., and that after speaking with Williams, and receiving a robbery complaint, he placed Eley under arrest. A ²³³ search of Eley revealed 33 one dollar bills in his wallet, a ten dollar bill, two one dollar bills as well as some change. The officer related that Williams told him that he was robbed at approximately 2:10 A.M. and that the reason for the delay in reporting the crime was that there was a scuffle in Eley’s room. The officer also stated that it would take approximately 25 minutes to drive from the Y.M.C.A. to Williams’ home.

The only witness produced by the defense was Eley who testified that he is not a resident of Baltimore and that he arrived in Baltimore at approximately 6:30 P.M. the evening of June 2nd; that he came to Baltimore to see a lady he had met in New York City, one Gladys Harvey, and that he saw her that evening when she got off work. Eley testified that he and Gladys Harvey left the Kozy Korner about ten minutes to two on the morning of June 3rd. When they stopped the cab driven by Williams, Eley testified that he did not want to get in because there were two other people in the cab who were quite intoxicated. After dropping off the other two passengers, they proceeded to drop off Eley’s girlfriend at her house.

At this point, Williams asked Eley to get in the