People v. Eddards

RICHARDS, J.

This is an appeal from a verdict and judgment of conviction, whereby the defendant was found guilty of the crime of obtaining money under false pretenses, and from an order denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial.

The first alleged error of the trial court consists in the denial of the motion of the defendant in arrest of judgment, and for a dismissal of the action upon the ground that the facts stated in the information did not constitute a public offense.

The information charges that the defendant together with one George Gilbert, “devising and intending by unlawful ways and means and by false and fraudulent pretenses and representations to obtain and get into their custody and pos

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session the personal property of Frank M. Ferguson, with intent to cheat and defraud said Frank M. Ferguson of the same, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, knowingly, and designedly, falsely, fraudulently and feloniously pretend and represent to the said Frank M. Ferguson that they, the said E. J. Eddards and George Gilbert, had sold to the Standard Oil Company, a corporation, a mica mine for a large sum of money, and that said large sum of money was then and there in the hands of and in the possession of one Asa V. Mendenhall, and that a portion of said large sum of money, to wit, the sum of $15,000.00 in lawful money of the United States, in the hands and in the possession of said Asa V. Mendenhall, was to be paid by said Asa V. Mendenhall to one J. S. Lord; that said $15,000.00 in lawful money of the United States was the share and interest of said J. S. Lord received from the sale of said mica mine to the Standard Oil Company, a corporation; that adjoining said mica mine there were other lands containing mica, and that they, the said E. J. Eddards and George Gilbert, had then and there a contract with said Asa V. Mendenhall whereby the said Asa V. Mendenhall would, for a consideration of 10% of the sale price, induce the Standard Oil Company, a corporation, to purchase from them, the said E. J. Eddards and Geo. Gilbert, ten mica claims for the sum of $550,000.00 in lawful money of the United States when they, the said B'. J. Eddards and Geo. Gilbert would locate and properly stake off said ten mica claims and obtain deeds on said mica claims.” It is then set forth specifically that each and all of the foregoing representations were utterly false and fraudulent, and were known so to be by the said E. J. Eddards and Geo. Gilbert and each of them, and were made by them and each of them for the purpose of inducing said Frank M. Ferguson to pay over and deliver to them the sum of two hundred dollars; and that the said Frank M. Ferguson, believing each and all of said false and fraudulent representations and pretenses to be true, and being deceived thereby, did deliver and pay over to said defendants the sum of two hundred dollars, which said sum was received and obtained by them and each of them with the intent then and there to cheat and defraud the said Frank M. Ferguson out of the same, and that they and each of them did thereby and then and there willfully, unlawfully, fraud