State v. Thornton

219 N.W. 176, 174 Minn. 323
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedApril 20, 1928
DocketNo. 26,703.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 219 N.W. 176 (State v. Thornton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Thornton, 219 N.W. 176, 174 Minn. 323 (Mich. 1928).

Opinion

Taylor, C.

Defendant was convicted of the crime of statutory grand larceny in the first degree. He appealed from the judgment and from an order denying a new trial.

The charge in the information, briefly stated, is that the defendant having in his possession, as agent of Louise A. C. Johnson, certificates of deposit and the proceeds thereof of the value of $2,500' for the purpose of investing the same for her in a first mortgage on real estate, feloniously appropriated the same to his OAvn use with the intent to deprive her of her property.

Although the question does not appear to have been raised at the trial, defendant earnestly contends here that the evidence will-not justify a finding that he received the certificates in question as the agent of Miss Johnson. Defendant was, and for many years had been, the president and managing officer of the First National Bank of Benson. Miss Johnson carried a checking account in the bank and in April, 1925, also had certificates of deposit aggregating $3,350 in her safety deposit box in the bank. In November, 1923, defendant had made an investment for her of $7,000 in what is designated in the record as the Bruce mortgage, which will be mentioned later. In April, 1925, he wrote her:

“I Avish that you would step in and see me when you get this. I have something good for you that I think you need and I will tell you about it then.”

On May 8, 1925, she called at the bank and Avas informed by defendant that he had a six per cent first mortgage for her of $2,500 *325 on 200 acres of land. This is designated in the record as the McNeel mortgage. After some discussion .of the matter, she and defendant went to her safety deposit' box and got her certificates of deposit. She indorsed them and turned them over to him. He gave her a new certificate of deposit for a part of the excess above $2,500 and placed the remainder of such excess to her credit in her checking account. He retained the $2,500 to be used in paying for the mortgage, and gave her a receipt or memorandum written on one of the deposit slips of the bank. On the line for the name of the depositor immediately below the printed words “Deposited by” on this slip is written, “Invested for Louise A. C. Johnson.” In the space for listing checks is written, “R. E. Mortgage drawing 6% from this date for $2,500.00. F. C. Thornton, Pres.”

Miss Johnson states that defendant said he did not have time to make out the papers then but would do so when he got around to it. Defendant states on direct examination:

“I told her I would take the $2,500 from her and make her a set of papers for an investment for that amount to draw her six per cent. * * * I told her that I would try to arrange for a five year loan, but I did not gxpect to be able to do that with the first set of papers that we would have to use, that she would have to wait a while until I got matters fixed up; and that was satisfactory to her.”

On cross-examination he was asked:

“As I understand your explanation now, Mr. Thornton, this $2,500 that you got from Miss Johnson this afternoon was taken by you to purchase this $2,500 mortgage?” To which he answered, “Yes, sir.”

What we have quoted is only a small portion of the evidence bearing upon this question. The evidence as a whole amply .justified the jury in finding that defendant held the $2,500 represented by these certificates as the agent of Miss Johnson for the purpose of procuring a first mortgage for her in that amount. State v. Brame, 61 Minn. 101, 63 N. W. 250; State v. Peterson, 167 Minn. 216, 208 N. W. 761, and see annotation in 52 A. L. R. 501.

*326 Defendant immediately placed the $2,500 left with him by Miss Johnson to his own credit in his personal checking account, and checked it out within the next three weeks for his own individual purposes. These facts were shown by the books and records of the bank supplemented by the testimony of officers and employes of the bank.. To prove the disposition made of the money the various transactions in which defendant paid it out were shown.

Defendant assigns as error the rulings admitting the books and records in evidence, claiming that they were admitted without laying a sufficient foundation therefor. All the books and records of the bank bearing upon these matters were produced and properly identified and authenticated by those who made them. It is true that the temporary slips containing the memoranda from which certain entries were made were not produced. But they were not in the possession of the bank, having been returned to the defendant. On showing that they had not been preserved by the bank, the books were admissible without producing them. Entries in the books kept as permanent records made at the time of the transaction from temporary memoranda are original entries within the rule requiring the production of the original entries. Annotation following State v. Stephenson, 2 Ann. Cas. 841; Levine v. Lancashire Ins. Co. 66 Minn. 138, 68 N. W. 855; Keller Elec. Co. v. Burg, 140 Minn. 360, 168 N. W. 98; Lampert Lbr. Co. v. Fleisher, 142 Minn. 150, 171 N. W. 309. If a temporary memorandum has in fact been preserved and is available, the court might properly require it to be produced. But tracing the slips containing the memoranda into the possession of the defendant was all that was required in any event, for he coiild not be compelled to produce them to be used as evidence against himself. State v. Minor, 137 Minn. 254, 163 N. W. 514; State v. Spalding, 166 Minn. 167, 207 N. W. 317. The foundation for the admission of the books and records ivas ample. Furthermore, defendant when on the stand admitted the facts shown by these entries and that the entries were correct.

Defendant also assigns as error the rulings admitting evidence of the various transactions in Avhich he had used this money. It was proper for the prosecution to show the disposition made of the *327 money. This evidence was presented for that purpose, and we find no error in the rulings. That the facts were as shown by this evidence defendant himself admitted on cross-examination.

Defendant makes a claim to -the effect that he gave Miss Johnson full value for the $2,500 and therefore was not guilty of embezzlement. His wife owned 200 acres of land on which he and his wife had given a first mortgage of $10,000 to an insurance company and a second mortgage of $2,500 to McNeel who lived in Chicago. The McNeel mortgage became due in March, 1925, and the bank paid McNeel the amount of the mortgage and received from him an assignment of it. Defendant says this is the mortgage he had in mind in his talk with Miss Johnson. Immediately after she left the bank on May 8, defendant credited the $2,500 to his own checking account and made out two promissory notes payable to the bank on April 1, 1930, one for $500, the other for $2,000. They are identical in form except as to amounts and bear identical indorsements. The name of McNeel is affixed to each as maker. On the back of the notes is a certificate signed in the name of the bank by defendant as president,

“that the within bond is one of a series secured by a mortgage held by this bank as trustee and that this bond is registered with this bank in the name of the following assignee: viz., Louise A. C.

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Related

State v. Fulford
187 N.W.2d 270 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1971)
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156 P.2d 111 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1945)
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288 N.W. 390 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1939)

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Bluebook (online)
219 N.W. 176, 174 Minn. 323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-thornton-minn-1928.