State v. Platner

• Decision Date: 22 May 1906
• Citation: 196 Mo. 128,93 S.W. 403
• Parties: STATE v. PLATNER.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

93 S.W. 403

196 Mo. 128

STATE v. PLATNER.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

May 22, 1906.

1. INFORMATION—VERIFICATION BY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY.

Where an information for assault with intent to ravish was in the language of the statute defining the offense, and was duly verified by the prosecuting attorney in accordance therewith, it was not fatally defective for failure to recite that it was made on the oath of the prosecuting attorney or on his official oath.

2. RAPE—ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO RAVISH— EVIDENCE.

In a prosecution for assault with intent to ravish and carnally know a female against her will, evidence held sufficient to sustain a conviction.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jasper County; Howard Gray, Judge.

Menzo Platner was convicted of assault with intent to ravish, and he appeals. Affirmed.

Frank L. Forlow, for appellant. The Attorney General and N. T. Gentry, for the State.

BURGESS, P. J.

On the 30th day of June, 1905, the defendant was convicted in the circuit court of Jasper county and his punishment fixed at four years' imprisonment in the penitentiary, under an information filed by the prosecuting attorney of said county charging him with having committed an assault upon one Minnie L. Stotts, with intent to ravish and carnally know her feloniously and against her will. In due time defendant filed motions for new trial and in arrest, which were overruled. He appeals.

The facts are about as follows: Minnie L. Stotts resided at Aften in the Indian Territory. In the early part of June, 1905, she left Aften to visit a brother in Dade county, Mo., and stopped at Webb City to spend the night with friends. She arrived at said city on a train which was due there at 8:45 that evening. By previous arrangement, one Fred Wallner, a man whom she had met before and to whom she was engaged to be married, met her at the station upon the arrival of the train. They walked to Carterville, near by, where for some reason unexplained they were arrested by a policeman and locked up in the city prison. After being kept in confinement for about an hour they were released, and they started to walk east to Main street, when defendant and another young man named Hardy followed them. The young men walked around in front of the prosecutrix, and defendant remarked to her that she was keeping late hours. He also wanted to know where she was going and said that that policeman was a friend of his. Wallner replied that it was nobody's business where they were going, and prosecutrix said she was going to the little town of Prosperity. Defendant then said she was going with him, and he and Hardy took hold of prosecutrix by the arms and began to drag her along. When Wallner objected, defendant said: "Don't you say a word, or we will both jump on you and beat you to death." At that Wallner started to run, and Hardy threw a rock and struck Wallner on the back of the head, and one of them (the record is obscure as to which) drew a knife. Wallner called for help and ran back towards the city prison. When prosecutrix screamed, defendant and Hardy struck her in the face, and both of them took hold of her and dragged her down the street towards a vacant lot. Prosecutrix resisted all she could and tried to jerk loose from them, but was overpowered. Defendant and Hardy pushed prosecutrix backwards and threw her to the ground, and held her by the arms. Defendant then said, "Now sweetheart, you are going to let me have it." Prosecutrix refused and continued to scream; and defendant took out his handkerchief and wiped the blood from her nose and mouth. As she was still calling for help, defendant put his arm over her mouth and told her to be still or he would kill her. Defendant pulled up the clothes of prosecutrix, and again cautioned her to be still; at the same time he unbuttoned his pants. When they heard a pistol shot defendant threw his coat over prosecutrix to conceal her white waist; when a second shot was heard, defendant and Hardy ran off. In the meantime, Wallner had gone back to the policeman, made complaint of the assault, and he and the officer hurried to the place where Wallner had just left prosecutrix. When they reached that place prosecutrix was not there, but they heard her screams still further down the street. When they got to her defendant and Hardy had gone, and prosecutrix was on the ground and her nose and mouth were bleeding. The proprietor of a restaurant testified to the fact that Wallner and prosecutrix passed his place of business after they were released from prison, and that defendant and Hardy got up, left the table, talked to each other, and followed after prosecutrix. The constable testified to seeing defendant sitting on a bench in front of a saloon that night after the alleged assault. That defendant jumped up and started to run when police officer Brown came out of the saloon with Hardy under arrest. That some 25 people gathered around, and the officer told Wallner that he had recognized one of his men, and to try and see if he could find the other one. Defendant then tried to get behind the constable, but Wallner recognized him; defendant was pale and excited.

The evidence for the defendant tended to show that he was a fireman and worked in a mine at Osage. That, on the night in question, defendant and Hardy were in a restaurant eating lunch when prosecutrix and Wallner passed. That they came out, followed in the same direction, but on the other side of the street from prosecutrix but accidentally caught up with her. That Hardy and Wallner got into a difficulty, used profane language, and Hardy threw rocks at Wallner. While this was going on, defendant coaxed prosecutrix to go on with him down the street. That Hardy got away from Wallner and came running towards prosecutrix and called to her. When...