The Big House III: San Quentin State Prison and Los Angeles County Inmates

The third and fourth convicts from Los Angeles County sent up to San Quentin State Prison were Firman Valdez (July 1853) and Jose A. Rodriguez (March 1854).

Valdez was tried before the county judge and two associate justices at the Court of Sessions on 2 June 1853 on the charge of assault with the intent to kill in the stabbing of Jesus Parada.  The Los Angeles Star of the 8th only noted that, "the Court of Sessions met on Monday, and passed sentence upon Firman Valdez, convicted of assault with intent to kill; one year in the State prison.

The "Register and Descriptive List of Convicts Under Sentence of Imprisoment in the State Prison of California" lists Valdez as prisoner number 233.  Arriving on 10 July, Valdez was described as 5'7" with a dark complexion and black hair and eyes.  He had a scar across his left cheek and nose, a stiff  left hand, and a "scar from a bullet on left arm and left side."  Clearly, Valdez had been in a number of fights in this lifetime!

The "Register and Descriptive List of Convicts Under Sentence of Imprisonment in the State Prison of California" at San Quentin lists prisoner 233, Firman Valdez, sentenced to a year for an assault with the intent to kill (incorrectly listed as "murder") in a case from Los Angeles County.  Click on either image to see them enlarged in a separate window.

The 40-year old laborer, a native of Mexico, was listed as being convicted of murder, though this clearly was an error.  For one thing, a murder conviction would have brought a death sentence and a hanging back in Los Angeles, instead of the one-year term for the assault to commit murder.  He evidently served his full term, because the comments section on the list merely reads "Discharged" with no date given.

On 22 February 1854, Jose A. Rodriguez, charged with an assault with the intent to kill Francisco Machado, was convicted in case 161 om the District Court, presided over the Judge Benjamin Hayes, with the lesser charge of assault with the intent to commit bodily harm and sentenced to a term of one year in prison.

However, on the complaint of county jailer George Whitehorne, Rodriguez and Manuel Garcia were defendants in the next case, number 162, held on 24 February at the Court of Sessions, with the charge of setting fire to the county jail.  Notably, the jury found both men not guilty of this crime.

Legal proceedings having ended, Rodriguez was sent up to San Quentin, arriving on 15 March.  Recorded as prisoner 347, he was identified as a 23-year old vaquero, a California native, and as 5'4 and 3/4" with a dark complextion and dark (presumably black) hair and eyes.

This is the San Quentin register listing for prisoner 347, Jose A. Rodriguez, committed for an assault to commit bodily harm (incorrectly listed as "assault to murder") in a case from Los Angeles County.

Again, the listing of his crime was in error, because he was shown as being convicted of "Assault with attempt to commit murder," rather than the "intent to commit bodily harm" which was reflected on his District Court case envelope.

The physical description of Rodriguez included scars on the right side of his nose, on his left ear and on the right waist, but also "an indentation on right side of head," which leads to the question of how that physical feature was created.

The next two convicts sent up to San Quentin from Los Angeles County oin 1854 were notable figures for very different reasons, so check back for the next installment of "The Big House."