State v. Tedd
| Decision Date | 22 June 1923 |
| Docket Number | No. 35491.,35491. |
| Citation | 194 N.W. 184,196 Iowa 292 |
| Parties | STATE v. TEDD. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Linn County; John T. Moffit, Judge.
Indictment for conspiracy wherein it was charged that the defendant conspired with Harold Hahn and Joseph Lucas to injure the person and property of Frank Keith and Mildred Keith, to wit, by robbing them of money and diamonds. Upon a plea of not guilty, the defendant was tried. A verdict of guilty was rendered and judgment entered thereon. The defendant appeals. Reversed, and new trial ordered.Carl F. Jordan, of Cedar Rapids, for appellant.
Ben J. Gibson, Atty. Gen., Maxwell A. O'Brien, Asst. Atty. Gen., and H. K. Lockwood, Co. Atty., of Cedar Rapids, for the State.
The following statement of the material facts which we quote from the brief of the state will answer the purpose of our consideration of the appeal:
“The defendant, a resident of Cedar Rapids, and apparently engaged in the sale of automobiles or used cars, had sold and delivered a car to another person upon the direction of Mr. Keith, who told the defendant that he (Mr. Keith) would pay the defendant for the car, it appearing that the person to whom the car was delivered had sold some whisky to Mr. Keith and the latter still owed him for the whisky. There seems to have been some delay on the part of Keith in paying the defendant for this automobile, and the defendant then decided to call upon a young man with whom he had been acquainted for a number of years by the name of Harold E. Hahn to assist him in getting his money. Harold Hahn was at that time about 20 years old, married, and living in Cedar Rapids. A few days before April 21, 1922, the defendant went to him and told him that Keith owed him some money, and that he would not pay and the defendant had decided that the only way he could get his money would be to steal a diamond ring that Mrs. Keith wore. In this first conversation the defendant told Hahn that Keith was yellow and would not fight no matter what happened, and that it would be an easy job to take the ring away from Mrs. Keith, and that they could take whatever money Mr. Keith had at the same time. The defendant also had Hahn attempt to collect some other money that he had coming to him and told Hahn that he was pretty well broke. The defendant did not want to do the job himself because Keith knew him and would recognize him. He told Hahn it would take three to do the job, and asked Hahn to get some one to help him. A few days before the attempted robbery, Hahn and the defendant drove to the home of Joe Lucas, who was acquainted with Hahn, and Hahn told the defendant he would get Lucas to assist in the job. Hahn had a talk with Lucas in the presence of the defendant, in which he asked Lucas if he would assist them in getting the diamond ring from Mrs. Keith. Lucas agreed to assist them. After this conversation Hahn took the defendant over to town, and it was agreed that they were to meet Lucas at 9 o'clock at Mrs. Keith's. The defendant went to the drug store where Mrs. Keith was working and was gone 20 or 25 minutes, when he returned and told Hahn that Mrs. Keith was not working that evening, so the job was called off for that time. The defendant then took Hahn out to the Keith home and they looked over the ground. They then returned and planned how they were to do the job. It was agreed that Hahn was to meet Joe Lucas over to Hahn's house and they were then to go to the defendant's house, who would then see if Mrs. Keith was working, and if she was they were to go out to Keith's and lay in wait until she came home, when they were to rob her of the diamond ring, and Mr. Keith of any money that he had. The defendant was to wait back in the shadows because they would recognize him, unless he was needed. The defendant explained to Hahn and Lucas that the ring was worth about $400. He also explained that if they got caught they were to say nothing and that he would get them out of the trouble. The night of the attempted robbery, Lucas and Hahn left any articles of identification that they had upon them at the defendant's. The defendant told them to park their car at a certain place and arrange for a get-away. Hahn was to watch Keith and keep him from assisting his wife, while Lucas was to get the ring from Mrs. Keith. The defendant also showed Hahn a ledger showing that Keith owed the defendant $60. After their conversation in the defendant's room, Hahn and Lucas got into the car and parked it in front of the Brunswick Pool Hall. They then went out to Keith's place and waited until they saw a car coming. Hahn thought it was the Keith car and called to the defendant and Lucas to come on. The defendant, however, stayed by a lumber pile, and Hahn went down to the car, where Mrs. Keith got out and started to walk up the steps, when Lucas grabbed her arm and told her to wait a moment. This frightened her, and she ran up the steps and into the house and Lucas after her. He tried to get into the house, but Mr. Keith got out of the automobile, and Lucas then jumped off the porch and ran with Mr. Keith, following him. He ran into a lumber pile, and Keith caught him and brought him back into his house, where the police were called. Hahn, in the meanwhile, went on up the street, where he got into the car and drove up Mt. Vernon avenue, where he met the defendant, who was out of breath and said he had seen Joe.
While this robbery was being planned, and a few days before the attempt was made, Hahn and the defendant went into the drug store to see if Mrs. Keith was there and whether she had the ring on. Hahn stayed near the front of the store while the defendant walked back and spoke to Mrs. Keith, and saw that she was wearing the ring. He then returned and told Hahn that Mrs. Keith was wearing the ring and a couple of other rings, but that he didn't know just how good they were. It was also agreed that when the ring was sold Hahn was to get $175, Lucas $25, and the defendant $75. The defendant and Hahn were to take the ring to Davenport and try to sell it there.
Mrs. Keith worked in the drug store where the defendant had done some trading and wore the diamond ring while working there.
Lucas and Hahn both plead guilty to conspiracy and were sentenced to a term of years in the reformatory, and were serving their sentence at the time of the trial.”
The foregoing statement of facts is predicated with very slight exception wholly upon the testimony of the coconspirators, Hahn and Lucas. Mrs. Keith testified to the unsuccessful attempt at robbery of her by Lucas and Hahn on the evening of April 21st. She also testified that a few days prior to April 21st, the defendant had called at the drug store where she was employed and had talked with her and that Hahn was with him at that time. She also testified that the defendant was a regular customer of the drug store and was in there frequently. This is the sum total of the corroborating evidence, except some admissions made on behalf of defendant by his counsel in his opening statement to the jury. One of the grave questions in the case is the sufficiency of the corroborative evidence to go to the jury. In view of our conclusion upon other features of the reccord and the necessity of a new trial which arises therefrom, we will not deal herein with that question. It may be entirely eliminated upon a new trial.
[1] Instruction No. 11 given by the trial court was as follows:
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