Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-24
IBOARD TO HEAR
| LETTERMAN CASE
| DESPITE ACQU|TTAL
All Evidence Against Vice
Squad in WarrantIess Raid
to Be Sifted, Says StolI.
APARTMENT VISIT
| LEGAL, DECLARES HIT
Judge, Ordering Directed Verdict,
Says Liquor Fumes JUS
titled Entrance.

Regardless of the exoneration Of
Sergt. o. j. Letterman in Police Court
yesterday on a charge of illegal search
growing out Of liquor raid made on
an S street apartment recently. he will
be given hearing before the Police
Trial Board Wednesday on specifica-
tons resulting from the same case, on
Gals announced today.
Inspecor Louis j. Stoll, chairman of
the board, said all the evidence against
the vice squad chief would be sifted,
just as though he never had been ex-
onerated in Police Court.
Letterman was found not guilty yes
terday after motion for a directed YER
dict, once overruled, was granted on
being restated by E. Russell Kelly, chief
OF defense counsel, when the Govern
ment closed its case. One of Kellys
chief arguments was that there had
been marked discrepancies in the testi-
mony of Mr.. and Mrs. Eleck Harmon,
residents OF an apartment at 1881 s
street, who were the complaining wit
nesseS.
Arrest After Hart Ruling.
The Harmons brought about the ar
rest Of Letterman when David A. Hart
assistant United States attorney in
charge of liquor prosecutions, refused
to issue papers against the pair after
Letterman had taken them into custody
on charges of possessing whisky. Hart
ruled the raid was illegal because it had
been made without search warrant.
Judge Hit, In ordering directed YER
dict, declared the raid was legal. He
said Letterman was justified in enter
ing the Harmon apartment, because
"he smelled the fumes Of an intoxicat-
ing beverage" emanating from within.
Mrs Harmon testified that when she
opened the door of her apartment
March %, Letterman was there. She
added, HE said he was an officer,
knocked me behind the door and walked
in" The members of the squad then
searched the apartment, finding almost
half gallon of liquor in the kitchen
and four half-gallon jars of whisky
hidden in clothes closet. The witness
said the raiders looked in her phono-
graph, in her refrigerator and in bu-
reau drawers.
She pointed out that they failed to
seize So bottles of beer and a 6-gallon
crock Of home brew, which remained
to be bottled. She insisted that a jug
said by defense counsel to contain
enough coloring matter to give red
hue to 1000 gallons of whisky was
nothing but Georgia cane sirup."
Discrepancies in Testimony.
The discrepancies in the testimony
OF Mr.. and Mrs. Harmon were on
whether there were any whisky bottles
in the apartment, whether Harmon ever
had brought any liquor home himself
and whether the whisky seized had
been delivered to Harmon or his wife,
Among other things Harmon testi-
fled he did not know the name of the
man from whom he had bought the
whisky. He said he formerly was a
janitor in an apartment house, where
the Harmons once lived. Harmon de-
clared the whisky had been bought for
family consumption only.
While no defense witnesses were ques-
TONED with the exception of a few
character witnesses, Kelly in a state
ment to the jury said that Letterman
had gone to the Harmon apartment in
search of one Eddie Croghan, for whom
he had warrant charging the sale of
liquor.
Kelly based his request for a directed
verdict on several statements. He
charged the law under which Letterman
was arrested applied to Federal prohibi-
ton agents only and that Letterman
was nothing but a policeman. Charles
B. Murray, assistant United States at
torney in charge of the prosecution,
SOAVCA4NC0 A|Clb-illIdAt WdS o
agent and had no authority to search
the apartment for liquor.
Among the character witnesses for
Letterman were Representatives Ernest
w. Gibson of Vermont and William C.
Hammer of North Carolina.
Idiah T. Warren of 1912 Massachu-
sets avenue, member of the jury, de-
clared today that he was considering
writing to United States Attorney Leo
A. Rover to complain against nernnittin0
the case against Letterman to be
brought to trial. He said that while he
was reluctant to speak for the entire
jury, every member had been disguised
with the nature of the testimony against
Letterman and all agreed the vice squad
chief had been put to a lot of unnec-
essary trouble"