Evening star., 1946-03-29
Failure 10 Hold Man
In Hospital Assault
Case Investigated

An investigation as to why a
Municipal Court defendant was
freed yesterday, after charge of
housebreaking had been quashed,
instead of being held for service Of
a warrant charging him with as
sault, was begun today by United
States Attorney Edward M. Curran.
The man, Laurence P. Ward, 48,
colored, is charged with an assault
Wednesday on a 12-year-old girl, a
spinal meningitis patient in Chill
dren's Hospital. The housebreak-
ing charge was brought by police as
a result Of the same incident.
Meanwhile, police reported that a
man answering the description Of
Ward came to the hospital late last
night asking for a job. A special
detail of policemen was sent from
No. 13 police precinct to search the
vicinity, but no trace Of Ward was
found, Capt. Charles T. Weber,
commanding officer Of the precinct,
said.
Full Inquiry Promised.
The investigation instituted by
Mr.. Curran will begin today during
a conference with Assistant United
States Attorneys John B. Diamond
and William Mckinley, Mr.. Cur
ran said. II intend to go into the
whole matter thoroughly" he added.
Following the quashing of the
HOUSEKEEPING case by Judge John P.
Mcmahon, police and hospital au-
thorities refused to press a petty
larceny charge. A conference was
held in the assistant United States
attorneys Office and the assault war
rant was sworn. Ward, in the
meantime, had left court.
Andrew Howard, assistant United
States attorney prosecuting the case
against Ward, said he advised the
police to hold the man on petty
larceny charges "but they told me
they were disguised with the whole
thing"
At the court hearing yesterday,
no testimony was heard concerning
the alleged attack. Both police and
hospital authorities termed Ward
dangerous" and gave this as their
reason for not pressing the petty
larceny charges as they felt "the
punishment would not be sufficient" :"
Convicted More Than 50 Times.
Police records show that Ward,
whose last address is listed as the
first block of Fifty-drst street NE,
has been convicted more than so
times for various offenses, mostly
drunkenness. Police said he had
been released from Occoquan work.
house Monday after serving a Is
day sentence for drunkenness.
The report Of Wards visit to the
hospital again last night came
around midnight. Mrs. Julia Jen-
kins, a receptionist at the hospital,
told police a man answering Wards
description came in the front door
and asked her for job.
IT told him to come back in the
Mrs. jenkins told police.
She then notified Miss Ethel Giles,
night supervisor of nurses, about
the incident, and she in turn noti-
fed No. 13 precinct.
The man left Immediately after
talking to her, Mrs. Jenkins said.
When arrested, quantity of
sleeping tablets were found on Ward,
police said. A spokesman from the
United States attorneys Office said
the original charge of housebreaking
was brought because it was thought
the punishment they could obtain
on conviction would be more in line
with the offense. The spokesman
admitted the United States attor-
ney's Office was caught by surprise
when the case was thrown out Of
court, leaving them without a legal
reason for holding Ward.