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KIDNAPPING / EXTORTION
Location: - Yolo County, Ca. - Date: - Mar 2, 1939
NOT A FEDERAL REEFER MADNESS CASE
MUSEUM COMMENTARY:
On the surface this case appeared to be a simple Kidnapping and holding for extortion case (a somewhat common crime at the time). And had it been left to itself in all probability would have remained an obscure isolated incident. However, that was not to be. It appears (at least from old newspaper articles), that at least one of the defendants claimed that Marihuana had been at the root of the crime. And that had they not been under the influence of the evil weed that they never would have done it.
Whether the claim was made to gain sympathy from the judge is irrelevant, what is relevant is that the local cops snapped at bate and called the State’s narc’s in to help investigate. And soon everyone was believing that Medical Marihuana was somehow involved. According to one newspaper report:
THE TIMES (San Mateo, California)However, the main damage came from the narc’s themselves. In their own wording:
May 6, 1939 p3 - “Youth Claims Marihuana Use at High School“
Testimony of Gerald Diefferhacher, 23, accused kidnaper at his trial in Woodland that he learned to smoke marihuana cigarettes while a student at Palo Alto High School brought the statement today from San Mateo county authorities that there was no evidence of use of narcotic by students at that time or at present.
An investigation was made last year by School Superintendent Homer martin following the assertion by a youth arrested in San Francisco that he purchased marihuana cigarettes from a peddler near San Mateo High school. Matin and County Probation Officer Francis Robinson said no evidence was found to substantiate the charge and that close watch was kept over the students to trace [the] use of the narcotic.
Dieffenhacher and three others is accused of kidnapping and robbing Leo Garcia near Woodland March 2. He said he and other boys had smoked marihuana at the Palo Alto school.
In April 1939, the Division of Narcotic Enforcement was asked to investigate a situation at Woodland, California. Three young men had been arrested for extortion, grand theft and robbery. One of the defendants in the case informed us that they had conspired to high-jack a cache of Marihuana on a certain ranch located in Yolo county. Inspectors of the Division visited this ranch, early in the morning, and there arrested two Mexicans (Lee Garcia and Jose Guiterez), who had marihuana cigarettes in their possession. The three young men were sentenced to San Quentin Prison. – all of whom had admitted that they had smoked Marihuana cigarettes. In this investigation it was uncovered that in 1937 a young man, 29 years of age, had shot another man in a controversy over Marihuana. The assailant escaped at the time, but was later apprehended at Fresno by State authorities and returned to Woodland, where he was convicted and sentenced. --- MARIHUANA - State of Calif. Dept. of Penology, Narcotic Enforcement (excerpt from report for the year 1939)And here one should note that while not even being an official federal gore-file case, that this one case of-and-by-itself, opened flood gates to multiple other cases that would make their way in various forms in to the Gore file as well as a series of major injustices.
In the narcotics police’s own words:
“In April 1939, the Division of Narcotic Enforcement was asked to investigate a situation at Woodland, California. Three young men had been arrested for extortion, grand theft and robbery. One of the defendants in the case informed us that . . . “
Which in other words means that the narc’s interviewed the kidnappers and simply took the word of these fine outstanding young men, that all kinds of other crimes were taking place . . . which in turned lead to police raids and follow up arrests. [see the Leo Garcia case, an egregious case if ever there was one] .
Philosophically speaking, I suppose it can be said that the kidnappers extracted every bit of evil that they could out of the situation. And the narc’s, well their the narc’s, what should one expect.
SAN QUENTIN PRISON RECORDS:
Gerald K. Diffenbacher (Dieffenbacher)- San Quentin Prison ID 63703
Johnnie Rodriquez - San Quentin Prison ID 63704
Richard Garcia - San Quentin Prison ID 63697
FOLSOM PRISON RECORDS:
Ted Albright – FolsomPrison ID 22431
[Key-finder - Case#CA31A]
Prison documents – Courtesy of www.ancestery.com
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