Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Killing Of Jose Reyes Berryessa 1882
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Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California

   KILLING OF JOSE REYES BERRYESSA.—On Monday evening, May 20, 1878, near the
crossing of West Main and Castro streets, in the town of Martinez, Jose Reyes
Berryessa, a native Californian, made an assault upon Louis Kamp, in resisting
which he shot and killed his assailant. It appears that Kamp was passing along
the street towards the bridge, carrying a pail of water, when Berryessa
approached and addressed him angrily in Spanish, Kamp answering in the same
language. Berryessa then assaulted him with violent blows of his fists, causing
him to drop his water bucket, then grappled and threw him repeatedly and
violently, either with his fist or a stone, cutting his face and causing a
copious flow of blood. Just then Constable Gift's attention, in passing, being
attracted to the affray, ran forward, pulled Berryessa off and commanding the
peace, told them they were both under arrest and must go with him before the
justice. Kamp said he would go, but Berryessa defied the officer insultingly,
and immediately renewed the assault upon Kamp, striking, and again throwing and
falling upon and hitting him with a stone while down. Gift again pulled him off,
but he struggled free from his grasp, making threatening demonstrations of
continuing the assault upon Kamp, who was then upon his feet, and according to
the testimony, backing away while drawing a pistol from his right hip pocket,
which he presented and fired just as Berryessa, in breaking from Gift's hold to
reach him was turned partially sideways, some ten or twelve feet from him, and
the shot entered his right side just below the nipple. Berryessa stooped, placed
both hands on the wounded part, walked to the sidewalk from near the middle of
the street, sat down, and in a few seconds expired. The verdict of the Coroner's
jury was that the killing was justifiable.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.


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