Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1915 — Young Frank Alter Discharged. [ARTICLE]

Young Frank Alter Discharged.

The preliminary hearing in the case of the State of Indiana vs. Frank Alter, the painter, was completed before Squire Dean Friday afternoon and the defendant was discharged. As stated in the last issue of The Democrat, ajl the evidence possessed by the state was purely circumstantial, and the court did not think it sufficient to bind the defendant over to the grand jury. Young Alter was arrested last Thursday for—the alleged theft of a pocketbook containing some sl7 or $lB, frotn the pocket of the pantaloons of John Medicus, the plasterer, who was doing some patching on the second flooi- of the K. of P. building the day before. Medicus had laid off his coat and pantaloons, while working in his plastering clothes, and placed them in. one of the small rooms at the north end of the building. Young Alter came up there during the afternoon and was. also on the third floor where some paint- ' ers were at work. Shortly after he had left Medicus went to his coat to get some tobacco and found that some one had disturbed the clothing. X)n examination he found that his pocketbook was gone* The empty purse was picked up Thursday morning in the gutter near the State .Bank building.