State v. Baker
| Decision Date | 22 December 1925 |
| Docket Number | 25611 |
| Parties | STATE v. BAKER |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Robert W. Otto, Atty. Gen. (C. E. Curtis, of Jefferson City, of counsel), for the State.
HIGBEE, C. George
Baker the appellant Leon Williams, Josh Cartwright, and Reuben Bobbitt were jointly charged by indictment on January 31 1924, with murder in the first degree for shooting and killing Harry Leonard in the city of St. Louis on December 30, 1923. A severance was granted, and the defendant was separately tried on April 24, 1924, and found guilty by the verdict of the jury of murder in the first degree, and his punishment assessed at death. After motions for new trial and in arrest were overruled, the defendant, on June 14, 1924 was duly sentenced to be hanged, from which sentence he appealed.
The facts in this case, as disclosed by the evidence, are substantially the same as in the companion case of State v. Leon Williams. 274 S.W. 427. Baker, Williams, Bobbitt, and Cartwright, armed with revolvers, drove to the vicinity of Harry Leonard's saloon on Randolph street for the purpose of robbing the proprietor. Cartwright remained in the automobile while the other three entered the saloon, and, while Baker was attempting to go behind the bar to get the money in the safe, Williams shot Leonard through the heart. The three then escaped in the automobile, and shortly thereafter were arrested and identified by Mrs. Leonard, widow of the slain man. The defendants severally made statements circumstantially detailing the facts connected with the homicide and their participation therein. These statements were taken down by a stenographer, typewritten, and severally signed by the defendants and attested by seven witnesses. The testimony showing that the statements were voluntarily made is, in substance, the same as related in the opinion of Walker, P. J., in State v. Williams, supra. Baker's statement is as follows:
'My name is George Baker, colored, 32 years of age, born in St. Louis, Mo., single, a laborer residing at 2723 Chouteau avenue, do hereby make the following statement with my own free will, and without any promises on the part of Lieut. James P. Gunn or Officers Walter Cliffe or Douglas Chamblin of the police department.
'About 9:20 o'clock p. m. on December 30, 1923, I met a colored man known to me as Rob (Reuben Bobbitt), and Josh Cartwright and Leon Williams, in the dance hall and soft drink parlor conducted by Joseph Walker, colored. at 2817 Chouteau avenue, and Leon Williams suggested that we all go and hold up the soft drink parlor at 2200 Randolph street (name of the owner was unknown to us at the time). I and Josh Cartwright called Mr. Walker to the rear of the soft drink parlor, and we told him that we wanted some pistols and an automobile, as we were going out to do some work (Walker understood what we meant by some work). Walker then handed Josh 3 revolvers, which were loaded, and he told Josh to go to the garage and get the car, and to be careful with the car and not get caught. I and Josh then went to the garage and got the automobile (the garage being located in the rear of the above address), and we got into the car, and Josh was driving, and we drove around to the front of the soft drink parlor and dance hall. Williams and Bobbitt also got into the car in the garage. Josh then drove the car east on Chouteau avenue to Jefferson avenue, and then north on Jefferson avenue to Adams street, and drove east on Adams street between Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third streets, where Josh turned around and stopped the machine, with the engine stopped, and the car facing west.
'I and Williams got out the automobile and walked east to Twenty-Second street and one block south to Randolph street to the soft drink parlor, and Williams entered the soft drink parlor and ordered a glass of root beer, and. while he was drinking the root beer, I entered the place and ordered a small package of Piedmont cigarettes (purpose of entering the place was to see that everything was clear). As I entered the soft drink parlor I noticed an unknown white man and a colored man who was standing in front of the bar and a woman and a man standing behind the bar. I gave the man behind the bar 25 cents for the cigarettes, and he gave me 15 cents in change. While in the place I did not speak to Williams (the reason that I did not speak to him was that I did not want the man to know that we were together). After receiving my change I walked out of the place. I walked to the machine, where Williams met me (when Williams and I got out of the machine, we did not take the revolvers with us but left them in the machine). Josh Cartwright and Bobbitt knew that the revolvers were in the machine when we left same. After getting back to the automobile, I told the other fellows that everything was clear, and that there was a colored man and a white man in front of the bar and the bartender and a woman behind the bar, and I told them, 'It's all right, let's make it' Bobbitt then reached to the top of the machine and got a large blue steel revolver, and Williams reached up and got a small blue steel revolver (the large gun was placed in the top of the car by Josh Cartwright, and I placed the small revolver in the top of the car, the same two revolvers that we borrowed from Walker).
'Bobbitt and Williams and myself then walked east on Adams street to Twenty-Second and walked one block south to the same soft drink parlor that Williams and I had been in a few minutes before. Bobbitt entered the place first, followed by Williams and myself. The three of us entered the swinging doors, and Bobbitt said, 'Stick 'em up and keep still' Both Bobbitt and Williams had revolvers in hand. They were supposed to have made every one in the place hold up their hand, and I was supposed to go behind the bar and get the money. The colored man and the white man that were standing in front of the bar threw up their hands; but the bartender who was sitting at the end of the bar got up and started to walk slowly towards the front of the place. Bobbitt then told him to stand still for I don't want to shoot you, and he again told me to go behind the bar and get the money. I ran to the end of the bar with the intention of going behind and get the money, and, when I got to the end of the bar, I saw Leon Williams fire one shot at the bartender who was then at the front part of the place but behind the bar. I then ran to the front door of the place, and I heard another shot followed by Bobbitt, and when we reached the sidewalk I heard another shot. I and Bobbitt ran west on Randolph street to. Twenty-Third and north on Twenty-Third to Adams street, where we were met with the automobile by Cartwright, who was driving same and, as Cartwright was starting the machine, Williams arrived and jumped on the side of same. Cartwright then drove the automobile to Jefferson avenue, then south to Chouteau avenue, then west to Ohio, then north to the alley, and west to the garage in the rear of 2817 Chouteau avenue, where the automobile was put away. The four of us then got out of the machine and entered the rear room of Walker's soft drink parlor and dance hall (the above room is occupied by Walker as a living room).
'After getting into the room, we called Walkor back, and I handed both revolvers to him and I told him what had happened, and Walker remarked, 'All right,' and he asked me if any one saw the car, and I told him, 'No' We then went into the dance hall and bought a half pint of whisky; Josh Cartwright paying 40 cents for same. We then drank the whisky. I then asked Williams if he hit the bartender (while he was shooting at him), and Williams said, 'I think I missed him the first shot, but the other two shots I got up on the...
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