State v. Alexander

• Decision Date: 31 January 1894
• Citation: 24 S.W. 1060,119 Mo. 447
• Parties: STATE v. ALEXANDER.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

24 S.W. 1060

119 Mo. 447

STATE v. ALEXANDER.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

January 31, 1894.

FALSE PRETENSES — INSTRUCTIONS.

On a trial for obtaining a deed by false pretenses it appeared that prior to obtaining the deed set out in the indictment the prosecuting witness and her husband gave defendant a quitclaim deed of the same premises, which also contained a general power of attorney, but such deed was not acknowledged. Held, that the court properly refused to charge that if such deed was given to defendant prior to the deed set forth in the indictment the jury must acquit.

Appeal from St. Louis criminal court; H. L. Edwards, Judge.

Lafayette D. Alexander was convicted of obtaining a deed to certain real estate by false pretenses, and he appeals. Affirmed.

The other facts fully appear in the following statement by SHERWOOD, J.:

Indicted at the May term of the St. Louis criminal court under the provisions of section 3564, Rev. St. 1889, for obtaining from one Charlotte Mittelberger and her husband a deed to certain real estate of the value of $3,000, in the city of St. Louis, by means of false pretenses, with intent to cheat and defraud, the defendant, a negro, was tried and convicted of that offense at the January term, 1893, his punishment assessed at imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of five years, and he appeals to this court.

The indictment is the following: "The grand jurors of the state of Missouri within and for the body of the city of St. Louis, now here in court, impaneled, sworn, and charged, upon their oath present that Lafayette D. Alexander, late of the city of St. Louis aforesaid, and state aforesaid, on the 5th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1892, at the city of St. Louis aforesaid, feloniously, intentionally, falsely, and designedly, with intent to cheat and defraud one Charlotte Mittelberger ger, did feloniously and falsely pretend and represent to the said Charlotte Mittelberger that he, the said Lafayette D. Alexander, had a purchaser for the sum of one thousand dollars for a piece of real estate consisting of twenty feet of ground on the south side of Pattison avenue in city block 4,080 in said city, together with a house thereon, then and there owned by said Charlotte Mittelberger and her husband, James Mittelberger. That a certain document in writing, which he, the said Lafayette D. Alexander, then and there presented to her, the said Charlotte Mittelberger, was a deed to said pretended purchaser for said lot and house thereon. That he, the said Alexander, had shown said document in writing to the brother-in-law of said Charlotte Mittelberger, to wit, one Gotlieb Stahlhuth, and that said Stahlhuth had investigated said document in writing, and had said it was all right, and that she, the said Charlotte Mittelberger, and her husband should sign it, as he, the said Stahlhuth, was busy, and could not leave; and the said Charlotte Mittelberger, believing the false pretenses and representations so made as aforesaid to be true, and relying and confiding in the same, and being deceived thereby, was induced by reason thereof, together with her husband, the said James Mittelberger, to sign, execute, acknowledge, and deliver to the said Lafayette D. Alexander a document in writing, to wit, a quitclaim deed conveying for a pretended consideration of three hundred and twelve dollars to the said Lafayette D. Alexander all her right, title, and interest, and all the right, title, and interest of her husband, James Mittelberger, in and to the following described lots, tracts, and parcels of land lying, being, and situate in the city of St. Louis and state of Missouri, to wit: A part of lot one of block eight of Fairmount subdivision, and in block number forty hundred and eighty, of the said city of St. Louis, beginning at a point in the south line of Pattison avenue ninety-two feet distant east of the east line of Cooper street; thence running eastwardly along the south line of Pattison avenue sixty feet; thence southwardly, and parallel to the east line of Cooper street, one hundred and seventy feet, to the north line of lot two of said block; thence westwardly along the said north line sixty feet; thence northwardly, and parallel to the said east line of Cooper street, one hundred and seventy feet, to the south line of Pattison avenue, and the place of beginning; together with all improvements thereon, consisting of three houses, and all of the value of three thousand dollars. And that the said Lafayette D. Alexander, by means of the said false pretenses and representations so made to the said Charlotte Mittelberger as aforesaid, unlawfully, feloniously, and designedly did obtain of and from the said Charlotte Mittelberger and James Mittelberger a conveyance to himself, the said Alexander, in fee of the said real estate last above described, of the value of three thousand dollars, and of the property of the said Charlotte Mittelberger and James Mittelberger, her husband, with intent her, the said Charlotte Mittelberger, and him, the said James Mittelberger, then and there to cheat and defraud of the same. Whereas in truth and fact he, the said Alexander, had no purchaser for the sum of one thousand dollars for said piece of real estate consisting of twenty feet of ground on the south side of Pattison avenue in city block 4,080 in said city of St. Louis, together with a house thereon, then and there owned by said Charlotte Mittelberger; and whereas in truth and in fact said document in writing then and there presented to said Charlotte Mittelberger was not a deed to a pretended purchaser, as aforesaid, for said lot of twenty feet front on Pattison avenue, with a house thereon, but was in truth and fact a quitclaim deed purporting to convey to said Alexander for a pretended consideration of three hundred and twelve dollars all the right, title, and interest of the said Charlotte Mittelberger and James Mittelberger, her husband, to the sixty feet of ground on the south line of Pattison avenue in city block 4,080, with three houses thereon, and of the value of three thousand dollars, and owned by the said Charlotte Mittelberger and James Mittelberger, as aforesaid; and whereas in truth and fact he, the said Alexander, had not shown the said document in writing to the brother-in-law of the said Charlotte Mittelberger, to wit, Gotlieb Stahlhuth; and whereas in truth and fact he, the said Alexander, had not just come from said Stahlhuth; and whereas in truth and fact said Stahlhuth had not investigated said document in writing, and in truth and fact had not seen it, nor been shown it by said Alexander or by any one; and whereas in truth and fact said Stahlhuth had not said that it (meaning said document in writing) was all right; and whereas in truth and fact said Stahlhuth had not said that she, the said Charlotte Mittelberger, and James Mittelberger, her husband, should sign it; and whereas in truth and fact he, the said Stahlhuth, had not said that he was busy and could not leave, — contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state. William Zachritz, Assistant Circuit Attorney."

On the part of the state the evidence was, in substance and effect, the following: The defendant is a sort of real-estate agent, and also an occasional preacher. Mrs. Charlotte Mittelberger is an old German lady, unable to read or write English. Her husband is not only quite old, but also very infirm, and unable to transact business. The real estate in question — 60×170 feet on Pattison avenue — had been conveyed to Mr. Mittelberger, by him and his wife reconveyed to their grantor, and then conveyed again to Mrs. M. She had built three houses on the land, dividing it into lots of 20 feet front each, and had borrowed $300 on the property. The property was valued by an expert at $2,800 or $3,000. Her dealings with the defendant in relation to this property were thus narrated by her: "I was going to sell my property, and my brother-in-law [Mr. Stahlhuth] brought Alexander to my house, saying he would sell it for me. Alexander asked me where my property was. I told him. He asked me how much I wanted. I told him $3,000 for the three houses, or $1,000 apiece. He said he could get that very easily. That he knew he had a buyer right away for it. He asked for my deeds, and I showed them to him. I told him I had bought the property from Mr. Scott, of Scott & Terry; and when he looked at the deeds he said: `There is no good deed given you. Mr. Scott has given you no good deed. It has mountain heirs. They will pay the taxes for you, and after a while they will take the property from you. It is better, as quick as you can, for you to get rid of it; and I will help you to do so.' He said he would have to take the deeds down town, and explained some of it, but I could not understand the big words he used, but I begged him to be honest with me, as I could not understand all. I told him I had borrowed $300 on the property, and that I had paid 8 per cent. interest. He said that was too much, but his partner, Mr. Davis, would lift it; that is, he would sell one of the houses right away for $1,000, and give me $700, and so the rest of the property would be free. This was in March, 1892. At this conversation Mr. Stahlhuth was present, and it was arranged that Alexander should not make any transaction in regard to the property, without notifying and consulting my brother-in-law first, who was to be my guardian and trustee. I gave Alexander my three deeds. He gave me a receipt for them, and went away, [which receipt was offered in evidence.] I have never seen the deeds since. He said he would need the deeds to get the $300 straightened out. About two weeks later he called on me, and brought a large piece of paper. He didn't tell me what it was. He read a few words, and he said he would like for me and my husband to sign it. He said, `This...