Arizona republican., 1904-10-13
THETOWN
Indictments Against a Firm
 of Lawyers
HeSsrs. Woodward and Thomas Are
 Charged With hisaPprOpriatiOn Of Money in Case Of B. L. HcDOnnOId.


 The general public was startled yes terday when 1t was rumored that the grand jury had found indictments against Judge J. B. Woodward and Bissen Thomas. of the law firm of Woodward Ss Thomas, charging them with embezzlement. It had. though, been known to a lew persons that the matter had been under consideration by the grand jury and to still fewer persons it was known as long as two weeks aso that a presentation would be made to the grand jury.
 The principal witness against the attorneys is H. w. McDOnnOld of Leb- anon, Tenn, a brother of Professor R. l.. McDonnoId, late superintendent Of the Phoenix schools, who day before yesterday pleaded guilty to an indict- ment charging him with forgery.
 Professor McDOnnold was arrested at SaE Diego last June on a warrant for forgery in having signed the names of members of the high school board to orders for warrants for periods for which he had already drawn his sal ary. These orders had been deposited by him with w. NJ. Ffckas as collat- l teral security for a loan of $500. He was brought back to Phoenix and or | HIS ctlllNeAl lit CAAAAloE Gu NAAC III III t- ] Woodward Ss Thomas to defend him. i They represented him at the pEslini- nary proceedings at which a defense was waived and he was held to the grand jury. There were six counts l against him and on each Of these his bond was S4OO. The bond was subse- | quently reduced to a lump sum oi S15O0 ! There was another case of fO- geTy l by McDOnnold, but no complaint was ! made. He was besides in debt to a ! great many persons and application was made by him to. his relatives il Tennessee for relief 1n the meantime 1 arrangements were undertaken for hi: release from jail on bond
 About the middle of July his broth CT. II. W. NcDonnoId, sent to his 1ttOr- neys S1.O52.5O. and it is out of the dis position of this money that the in dictments have come. It is alleged il 1 the indictments that of this amour the defendants have embedded or mis appropriated SS67.40. Of the remainder $50 was given by the lawyers to the of fee of the sheriff for the use of Me DonnoId. and they paid beside some O
 his outstanding debts. The rest the. retained as their fee for the defense
 H. ". 6lcDonnoId arrived IT the ei-! about two weeks ago and about tha
 time it was understood that proceed
 ings would be begun against the attor
 neys for a misapprOpriatiOn Of tn
 money which he had sent. Not Ions
 after his arrival there was a court en
 try of the withdrawal of the firm O
 Woodward & Thomas from the defens
 and the firm of Street & Alexande
 was entered.
 It is cOntended on the part of tn
 defendants in the present proceeding
 that the money kept by them was thei retainer. a fee to which they were req
 sonably entitled for the services whicl
 they had already rendered and whicl
 they expected to render. It is gather
 ed from the indictments which do no
 mention the name of R. L. McDonnold
 that the money the defendants wer
 handling constituted a trust fun,
 which had been put into their hand
 by II. W. McDOnnold fer a specific pur
 pose, to which SS67.59 was not applied
 but was appropriated by the defend ants for their own use without the con sent of McDonnold; that they wer
 bound to carry out his instructions il
 the disposition of the money.
 On the return of the indictUent
 Nessrs. Woodward and Thomas weI brought into court and arraigned- The were given until this morning to plea and in the meantime are released O.
 their own recOgnizances,