McGlothlin v. State

Shehan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Harford County, entered upon the verdict of the court, sitting as a jury, in which the appellant, Ralph S. McGlothlin, was convicted of larceny. The only question submitted on this appeal relates to the admissibility in evidence of a statement in writing, signed by the appellant, in which there was a confession that certain produce was stolen from the sidewalk in front of the American Store in Aberdeen. The trial court admitted the statement in evidence, over the objection of the accused.

This appeal is from that ruling. The facts are simple. In the early morning of January 27th, 1937, three men had gone to the Town of Aberdeen, in Harford County, for the purpose of robbing the American Store of a safe, but, for some reason, decided they would not. go through with that undertaking. They then determined to wait until merchandise from a delivery truck was placed on the sidewalk which passes in front of the American Store and the Great Atlantic & Pacific ¹³⁴ Tea Company’s store.

These men, Howard B. Fletcher, Jacob J. McGlothlin, and Ralph S. McGlothlin, the appellant, loaded a bag of potatoes and some other produce, the property of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, into a car and drove away. They were subsequently arrested, jointly indicted for larceny, and brought to trial. Jacob J. McGlothlin and Howard Fletcher pleaded guilty. The appellant’s plea was not guilty.

In Aberdeen, the American Store and the store of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company are in one large building, under one roof, and separated only by a partition in the center, and there is a continuous pavement in front of these places of business, and from this pavement the theft occurred. It was testified that produce for both of these stores is unloaded and piled on this pavement, about fifteen feet apart, and there it is checked. The manager of the store of thei Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company discovered that some produce belonging to it had been removed or stolen from the sidewalk after it had been placed there from the truck. This was ascertained through his usual routine in the morning of checking the delivery.

He found that a hundred pounds of potatoes, fifteen pounds of string beans, thirty-six pints of strawberries, and a case of oranges, were missing. The value of these four packages of merchandise totalled $14.72. , Directly across the street is a store operated by one Goetz. This merchant had been missing articles of merchandise left in front of his store, and decided to watch and to see who was guilty of these thefts. One morning in January, 1937, while watching, he noticed a green car drive up to the curb in front of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, and two men get out and load produce into the car, while a third man stayed in the car and assisted in the loading.

He was unable to get the license number of the car on this occasion, but did get the first three numbers, and, on another morning, he observed this same car, in the same place, and was able to get the entire license number, which he gave to a police ¹³⁵ officer. The car proved to belong to Howard Fletcher. Fletcher was arrested on another charge and, in consequence of information given by him, the appellant was arrested, and while in jail made the statement to the Sheriff that he had gotten potatoes and other vegetables from the pavement in front of the store. The appellant signed a statement to the effect that he had stolen produce which had been delivered on the pavement in front of the American Store at Aberdeen.

The statement is here set out in full: “ ‘Some time ago, I do not remember the exact date, Howard B. Fletcher, my brother Jake McGlothlin, and I went to Aberdeen for the purpose of getting a safe from the American Store, but finding the inner door to the store barred, we decided not to undertake it. This was three or four o’clock in the morning and we waited around Aberdeen until the American Store delivery truck delivered bread and produce to the store front. We loaded in a quantity of this produce including bread and potatoes and took if away with us in Fletcher’s car. Fletcher and my brother divided it between them.

I was with these same fellows in at least' one other case, when we got articles of food from the sidewalk in front of the American Store in Aberdeen. “ T had nothing to do with taking the safe from the store sometime prior to this.’ ” The statement was freely made, without coercion, inducement, or promise, and signed by him in the presence of