Evening star., 1943-11-08
Murder Charge
|AgainstMergner
Voted by Jury
Five Men Indicted
In Capitol Building
Gambling Case

Fred c. Mergner, 45-year-old
father Of five children, today was
indicted on a charge of frst-degree
murder in connection with the
shooting of Mrs. Charlotte w. Rob-
inson, 80, of 325 East Capitol street.
Mergner, whose home is at 1928
University avenue NV. was ar
rested and repeatedly confessed to
the killing the day after Mrs. Rob-
lnson, a divorcee, had been found
fatally wounded on the sidewalk in
the first block, of Seventh street NE,
She died shortly after being taken
to hospital.
The indictment was one of A re-
turned today by a District Court
grand jury before Chief Justice
Edward C. Eicher.
Five Charged With Gambling.
Five colored employees of the Capi-
tol were indicated on charges Of
gambling in the Capitol and in the
Old House Office Building. One of
them, Preston Green, 72, of the 300
block of P street NV, was charged
with setting up gaming table after
he had been arrested in connection
with an alleged race horse bet made
in the vicinity of the members bath.
room in the Old House Once
Building.
The others were charged with op-
Grating lottery and possession Of
numbers slips. They were listed az
Thomas Lorenzo Robinson, 80, of
the 1000 block of Thirteenth street
NV; Frances E. Tyer, 81, of the
200 block Of Virginia avenue Sc:
Louis Hall, SO. of the 1900 block of
Nineteenth street NV, and Bruce
Cornell Reid, Al, of the 200 block OF
F street NV.
White Slave Charges.
! Five persons we're indicted on
white slave charges. Three of them
were charged with transporting an
l8-year-old girl from Virginia to
the District in violation of the White
Slave TRAFFIC Act. They are Ewell
G. Tasker, %; Robert Lee Wheeling,
Jr., 26, and Julia Erma Largen. 27.
In addition. two colored hotel bell.
hops were charged with pandering,
They were listed as Oscar c, Hoyle
and George Colbert.
Sol Line, A, of the 14OO block Of
Downing street NE, was indicted on
four charges of forgery OF checks,
| the largest one for $50. According to
Assistant United States Attorney
Sylvan Schwartz, who presented the
cases to the grand jury. Line con-
Quoted racket in which he pre-
tended to pay bills for others, first
obtaining bills from mail boxes and
presenting forged checks for larger
sums at the places where the bills
were due. He then would receive the
difference in cash, Mr.. Schwartz
MSkAeN in Morals CAe.
William@ariHa1, of he 1900
block of TEenty y-secord stree NV.
was indie "a onS charge of at
tempted cfininafs assault d a A.
year-old girl. The child told police
she had been burned on the hand
with a cigarette by the man, who is
said to be a former patient in st.
Elizabeth Hospital.
Henry Eng. 81, 300 block Of Ninth
street NV. and Harry Lee. a, 500
block of H street NV, Chinese,
were indicted on a charge of dealing
in and facilitating the transporta-
ton of narcotics.
In another indictment, Julian L.
Tyler, rs, described as an assistant
ticket agent at the Washington Ter
minal, was charged with grand lar
ceny. embezzlement and larceny
after trust of more than $500.
Manuel Dodson, 33, colored, OF the
500 block of Ninth street S.W. is
charged with violation of the Sc
lective Training and Service Act.