State v. Balle

[1] Defendant was charged with commission of the crime of robbery of the Gem Super Market in St. Louis, Missouri, with a dangerous and deadly weapon, a pistol. A jury found him guilty and assessed his punishment at imprisonment for five years.

[2] On May 2, 1966, about 5:45 p. m., just before closing time of the Gem Super Market, its owner's son, Stanley Gerstein, was working therein in the meat department. A man came up to the counter, and Gerstein asked if he could help him. The man put a gun in Gerstein's face and said, "Lay on the floor." There were then five or six persons in the store…