State v. McDaniel

<p>The defendants were indicted at the May Term, 1902, for obtaining- money BY false pbetenses. The indictment contained two counts. The first count was as follows :</p> <p>“The Grand Inquest of the State of Deleware and the Body of New Castle County, on their oath and affirmation, respectively, do present :</p> <p>“That Samuel A. McDaniel, of the Hundred of New Castle, Harvey B. Wigglesworth, of the Hundred of Wilmington, and Walter Bash, of the Hundred of Wilmington, all in the County of New Castle and the State of Delaware, on the 31st of March in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and one, at New Castle Hundred in the County of New Castle aforesaid, he the said Samuel A. McDaniel, then and there being the Sheriff of said County of New Castle, and he the said Harvey B. Wigglesworth, then and there being a warden in the county jail for said county and a deputy under him, the said Samuel A. McDaniel, Sheriff, as aforesaid, and the said Walter Bash, then and there being a warden in the said county jail and a deputy under him, the said Samuel A. McDaniel, Sheriff as aforesaid, and he the said Evan G. Boyd, then and there being Mayor of the City of New Castle in said county, and being persons of evil minds and dispositions, with force and arms, unlawfully and wickedly did conspire, combine, confederate and agree together, by certain false pretenses unlawfully to obtain for the use and benefit of the said Samuel A. McDaniel, from a' certain Horace G. Bettew, the said Horace G. Bettew then and there being the Beceiver of Taxes and County Treasurer of the County of New Castle aforesaid, a large sum of money, to wit, the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars, lawful money of the United States of America, the kind and denomination of which money is to the jurors aforesaid unknown, of the money, goods and chattels then and there, the property of .and in the ownership, possession and control of him the said Horace G. Rettew, Receiver of Taxes and County Treasurer for said New Castle County as aforesaid : the which said false pretenses, in pursuance of and according to the said conspiracy, combination, confederacy and agreement of the said Samuel A. McDaniel, Harvey B. Wigglesworth, Walter Rash and Evan G. Boyd so had as aforesaid, were thereafter, on and about the 30th of June, 1901, at the county aforesaid, embodied in a certain false, deceitful, fraudulent and padded bill of the said Samuel A. McDaniel as Sheriff as aforesaid for the three months ending on the said 30th day of June, A. D. 1901, which said false, deceitful, fraudulent and padded bill was in due course then and there presented by the said Samuel A. McDaniel as Sheriff as aforesaid to George D. Kelley, County Comptroller for the County of New Castle as aforesaid, and to the Levy Court Commissioners of New Castle County aforesaid, for the purpose of then and there obtaining the approval thereon by the said Comptroller for said county and by the said Levy Court Commissioners for said county, and the consequent payment thereof then and there out’of the funds and moneys which were then and there the property of and in the possession, ownership and control of him the said Horace G. Rettew, Receiver of Taxes and County Treasurer for said county, and by which said false, deceitful, fraudulent and padded bill was then and there falsely, untruly, fraudulently and knowingly stated and set forth the pretended and therein alleged number of vagrants lodging and prisoners being and remaining in the jail of New Castle County from day to day in and during the three months ending on the said 30th day of June, A. D. 1901, with intent then and there by means of the said false pretenses to cheat and defraud the said Horace G. Rettew, Receiver of Taxes and County Treasurer of said county as aforesaid of the said sum of money, to the evil example of all others in like case offending, and against the form of an act of the General Assembly in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State.”</p> <p>The second count differed from the first only in that it set forth, after the charge that the defendants “ did conspire, combine, confederate and agree together,”—the words “ and with other evilly disposed persons whose names are to the jurors aforesaid unknown.”</p> <p>Counsel for defendants gave notice that they would move to quash the indictment and if that was refused they would move the Court to order the Attorney-General to file a bill of particulars.</p> <p>The Attorney-General asked that both the motion to quash the indictment and the motion for the bill of particulars be reduced to writing and that the counsel for the defendants furnish the State with a copy of the same.</p>