Pancho Daniel (?–1858) was a
Californio bandit
Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...
, leader of the
Flores Daniel Gang who was
lynched
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
in November 1858 while awaiting trial for his involvement in the murder of
Los Angeles County Sheriff
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States ...
James R. Barton
James R. Barton (1810?– January 23, 1857) was the second sheriff of Los Angeles County, California, and the first to die in office, in the line of duty.
Biography Early life
James R. Barton was born in 1810 in Howard County, Missouri. He emigrat ...
.
Biography
Together with
Juan Flores, Pancho Daniel led a band of fifty robbers in California.
In 1857, the gang was reported to have robbed and murdered a German shopkeeper named George W. Pflugardt. Sheriff James Barton investigated the murder and, despite being warned against pursuing the band, he began to search for them. They were ambushed by the gang and Barton was killed, along with four of the men with him. Pancho Daniel was eventually captured in January 1858, and brought to Los Angeles to await trial.
[
Daniel's defense attorney, Captain Cameron E. Thom, was dissatisfied with the jury that had been appointed for Daniel's trial, on the basis that he considered them unable to deliver an impartial verdict. When Judge ]Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
Benjamin Hayes, or Benjamin Ignatius Hayes, (1815–77) was an American pioneer who was the first judge of the district court that served Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties in California. His seminal rulings are still cited in tha ...
dissolved this jury and appointed a new one, Thom insisted that the judge dissolve this one as well. Upon examining the third jury, Thom asserted that no jurors from Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
would be able to be impartial in the case and requested for a trial in Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
.[ At the inquest, the judge returned a verdict of 'death from strangulation, by a crowd of persons to the jury unknown'.][
California Governor ]John B. Weller
John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico.
Lif ...
labelled this lynching as a 'barbarous and diabolical execution', issuing a reward of $1000 for the arrest of the perpetrators.[ Despite this, those responsible were never identified.][
]
Further reading
See ''Gold Dust and Gunsmoke: Tales of Gold Rush Outlaws, Gunfighters, Lawmen, and Vigilantes'' (1999) by John Boessenecker.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Pancho
1858 deaths
Lynching deaths in California
Outlaws of the American Old West
Criminals from California
Year of birth missing
Racially motivated violence against Hispanic and Latino Americans
Deaths by hanging