State v. Harding

216 N.W. 642, 204 Iowa 1135
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedDecember 13, 1927
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 216 N.W. 642 (State v. Harding) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Harding, 216 N.W. 642, 204 Iowa 1135 (iowa 1927).

Opinion

Wagner, J.

The record in this case is a revelation of one of the most'daring holdups ev.er 'perpetrated within'the confines of our state.' About 9:30 A. M.'on the 15th "day of December, 1926, two bandits, well armed, entered the front' door of' the Modale Savings Bank. There were at that' time behind the counter in the bank the cashier and another employee, and two citizens outside the railing. The bandits wore false mustache's, Scotch caps, and handkerchiefs around their necks, in such manner- as-by the use thereof they could cover the' lower portion of their faces. As they entered' the bank, Avith their revolvers drawn, there came from them such exclamations as “Stick ’em up.-” “No fooling.'”' “We mean' business'.” “We want your money’’.”' The cashier; Sassaman, replied,No, no, you cannot have it;” and one of the'bandits immediately shot him in the-head, though not'fatally, blit the. injitry was sufficient to-"cause him to fall to the’ floor. The other employee of the bank started out of the báek door; Akhen one of the bandits shot at him; but the bullet passed over his héad, and he escaped. The two bandits passed behind the counter, obtained possession of the gun there kept for the protection of the employees, and at the point' of revolvers commanded the wounded cashier to open the safe, threatening to kill him if he refused. The cashier complied with their'command. ' The bandits'obtained money of various denominations'in a sum in excess of $4,000, and then backed the cashier and others into' the vault, and escaped out of the front door;' shooting one Jackson in the leg as he'passed along the street,.and jumped into a Ford car, fully curtained, — excépt the right front curtain, — and made 'their escape. They went south a mile or a mile and a quarter, and then turned 'west. Two citizens pursued them to the comer, and where the bandits turned west, they turned east, and arrived at California Junction by’a different route; and someAvhere along the‘road-they discovered *1138 tracks that turned off into the brush near Blair Bridge, and, following the track for a mile and a half, they came to a shack. They saw a car pull away from the shack, going south. At the shack they found some empty cartridges and false mustaches. These two parties then went to a farmhouse and called the Mo-dale authorities. They then returned to the shack and pursued the track down the river about three and one-half or four miles, where they found a car which had been burned, with a hole in the gasoline tank.

According to the record, this was the last seen of the bandits, or those thought to be the bandits, until that same afternoon, about 4 o'clock, when, at a house conducted by Mrs. Wilson, at 1713 California Street, Omaha, some of the police officers of Omaha and the sheriff of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, arrested the defendant and his brother, David Harding, who were suspected to be the bandits. It appears that the officers and the two Hardings arrived at this place about the same time. The Hardings came there in a taxicab, and shortly after they went into the house, the officers entered, and the defendant attempted to escape, but was captured. His brother, Dave, was pretty well intoxicated at the time, and started to scuffle with one of the officers, who pushed him against the frame of the door, and felt him for a gun; and a considerable sum of money was found on Dave's person at that time. The sum of $22 was found on the person of the defendant; and under the mattress on a bed in a room which the lady who conducted the house said, in the presence of the Hardings, was the room of the defendant and his brother, a large sum of money was found, a portion of which was identified as money taken from the Modale Savings Bank. The defendant and his brother were taken to the police station, and that evening the defendant made a confession, and the next morning, his brother, Dave, made a confession, and the defendant at that time signed a second confession.

It is shown by the record that Louise Hitchings, a witness for the State, was proprietress of a café in Missouri Valley, and that, while she was in the café on the evening of December 14th (the night before the robbery), she saw the defendant in her restaurant with another man, who put in a long distance call for 1960 Jackson, Omaha; and she heard the man ask over the telephone whether Mrs. Harding was there, and heard him also say: *1139 ‘ ‘ This is her husband calling. We are' in Missouri Valley, and if all goes well, we will be home to-morrow.” It is.also shown by the record that a Ford car was. stolen from the streets of Omaha on the evening of the 14th of December, and that the car hereinbefore mentioned as being burned at the river, on the morning of the 15th, bore the number plate of said car.

The first confession of the defendant hereinbefore referred to, which was obtained on the evening of December 15th, was signed by him, and was witnessed by the sheriff of Pottawattamie County and Harry H. Rubenstein, a reporter of the “Omaha Daily News,” and several others. The second.confession of the defendant was signed by him, and witnessed by William A. Gurnett (a police officer)-, Harry II. Rubenstein, as aforesaid, and two others. The voluntary character of the confessions is. established by the testimony of Rubenstein, the police officers, and the sheriff. The confessions were by questions and answers. In the first confession, after stating his name, place of residence, age, and occupation, he was asked:

“I am going to ask you about the holdup of a bank at Mo-dale, Iowa, which occurred about 9:30 A. M., December 15, 1926. You are aware that the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Nebraska, as well as the Constitution of the state of Iowa, among other things provides that you are not compelled to make any statement which might tend to incriminate you, and that anything that you say here may be used against you later. Now, knowing this, do you still wish to make a statement? A. I do.” ■ '

He then answered questions, the answers to which we give in abstract form, as follows:

‘ ‘ I was not in Omaha this morning. Dave, and I left here last night, and went down to that little house below the bridge near Blair, where we stayed all night. We left there about 8 0 ’clock this morning, and went straight to Modale. I .went into the Modale Savings Bank, and' Dave stayed out on the sidewalk. 1 stuck them fellows up, and got this money. I shot while I was in the bank, but not after coming out. We then went straight for the river. I set the car afire. I threw the gun that I used in the river. I had on a false mustache when I pulled this job. After setting the car on fire, I crossed the river to the Nebraska side. Dave was with me during all this time. We walked all *1140 the way from Blair to Omaha. We stole a car last night at Sixteenth and Nicholas Streets. We then went to Missouri Valley, and then to the shack. We got back to Omaha just before we were arrested. Dave and I were together all the time. I gave all the money to Dave.

‘ ‘ Q. Do you make this statement of your own free will ? A. Yes. Q. Is this statement the whole truth? A. Yes. Q. Have you been promised anything to make this statement? A. No.”

In the second confession, obtained on the morning of December 16th, appeared the following:

“Q. Now, Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
216 N.W. 642, 204 Iowa 1135, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harding-iowa-1927.