The Sun.
London, England, 1814-09-15 00:00:00

HIGHWAY ROBBERIES

Richard Harris and Jane Hunt were indicted for
assaulting
,John Phelan -on the King's highway,
pitting him in fear; and taking front his person,
against his will, a silver watch and seven one
pound Bank notes., his property.
- John Phelan deposed that he was a gentleman's
servant. On the 21st of August last he met a
woman, about' nine in the evening, in Si. Giles's ;
be mas•perfectly sober ; he asked her the way into
Holborn; she said she was going there, and would
spew him ; she took him down to George-street ;
as they walked along two men met them, the pri-
soner Harris was one of them ; they jostled him
(witness), and the other man made a snatch at
hiS watch 5' then.seized witness round the neck,
and with the assistance of Harris knocked him
down, and as he lay on the ground, they robbed
hint of 71. in Bank notes,, which they took- from
his breeches pocket ; they also took from his fob
his watch.; and about 17 or 18 shillings in silver;
they next pulled hint towards a door,
,at which the
female prisoner stood, holding a candle. The light
was almost immediately put out, and the parties
.di::appeared. The whole occurrence did not oc-
'copy ten minutes.
iVitness, on • his cross-examination: by Mr.
Natty, said, he ,mas an Irishman 5. was out of
place ; -had lived with the Ara-bishop of Dublin ;
went the morning after the robbery very early to
Ceorge-stieet, and recognised the prisoner en-
tering the house, at the door of which the rob-
bery took place ; also recognised the woman who'
was found in the bowie.

Thomls, Edwards proved that he Inid appre-
hendecklie prisoner ; he searched him, but found
nothing which tended to throw any light on the
subject. The woman was. after Wards apprehend-
ed, but on being searched, nothing was found in
her possession but a few shillings, which the Pro-
secutor could not swear to.

,T-he prisoners denied.all knowledge of the crime
imputed to them..

Several persons in their own class 'of life spoke
VEIN favourably of their character. •
Justice'LlEA-rn summed up the evidence,
'RIR! the Jury, atter a short consideration, aepitte'd
'both prisoner
• Robert 'Wells was next put to the bar on an
indictment 'charging him with assaulting Robert
Dan on.the 201-1 of July, .and forcibly rubbing
him irk: a 2/.Bank-note. •
Robert Diu dePosed. \that be was an out-pea-
sioucrof. (lichiea Hospital. Was at Shathvell on
the 20th'JuIv'last, between two and three in the
atternoou ; had four 21. notes in his ba'nd ; the
prisoner-. Came up, made a snatch
.at his hand, and
stlccoeded lii getting possession of the notes ;

alt the prisoner 11 anl asked hi :n
what he was going to do wi h the , notes ? • -Ile
made no _answer, but still k witness upon the
neck, knocked him down, atd then ran down
.Gravel-lane. -Witness follo,ved hi 111 and saw
him go into a Mr. Lee's public-house, where he
was taken into custody.
- Anne Timberlay was
.with the proseentor'when
he received his pension at Chelsea, and witnessed
the act imputed to the prisoner. She assisted in
the pursuit, and having seen the prisoner go into
the Black Horse public-house, she went for an Of-
ficer to the Shadwell, Police Office ; there was no-
thing found in the prisoner's possession when he
was searched.

Robert Willan, an Officer, took the prisoner
into custody ; he searched him, but found nothing
in his possession. From information he received
from Mr. Lee, the landlord, however, he went to
the privy, and in a crevice there futon! a 21. note.
This note proved to be one of those taken from
the prosecutor. The prisoner made a very great
resistance, and could not be properly secured until
two other Officers arrived.

Mr. John Lee, the landlord of the Black Horse
public-house, knevi the prisbn at the bar ; he was
a coal-whipper—recollected his coming to • his
house on the day of the robbery. The prosecutor
followed him. immediately, and said " you have
robbed me." The prisoner answered, " I have
taken nothing from you but what you owe me."
NVitness said, " If he owes you any thing, you
have no right-so :'ob him." Prisoner then struck
the prosecutor ; witness told the prosecutor to go
and fetch an officer. • During the absence of the
prosecutor, the prisoner went into the back-yard
to the,privy. When we went out,. he had some
piper very white iu his hand. Went out to the
privy to him, and said, " Robert, you should not
have robbed the man." Would not let the pri-
soner-quit his hOuse till the (Aker came.
The prisoner, in' his defence, said he had lent
the prosecutor 15s. several months before the day
on which the robbery was alleged to have been
committed. 'On that day he met the prosecutor,
and asked him to pay the trifle whii:h he' owed.
Re, however, refused. The prisoner, however;
denied that he had committed any theft whatever.
Mr. Baron GRAHAM having summed up the
evidence, the Jury round the prisoner guilty .of
stealinpfrom the person—but not of the bigh‘vay
robbery.