Wilmington daily commercial., 1876-05-15
LOCAL NEWS.
Court Proceedings.
Reported for The Commercial.

Reported for the Commercial.
New CASTLE, May 13 Court met at 10
o'clock, Judges Houston and Wootten on
the bench.
State us James Darrah-larceny of
pocket book and $500 from Joseph Egner,
in Wilmir gton, January last. Guilty. SEN
fenced to pay Egner 8 .6.50, costs, Saturday
next 20 lashes, 6 months in jail and 6
months wear d convicts jacket.
State US Charles Harrison-larceny of
meat from Charles G. Holley in Whining
ton. The prisoner said he stole the meat,
but said he was out of work, had wife and
two children and was hungry. Guilty. SEN
fenced to pay Holley 81 IL, costs, Saturday
next 1G lashes, months in Jail and for Six
months convicGs jacket.
State Us. Samuel Bush and Thomas Davis
Rubbing the house of Enoch Spruance
at Spruance's Beach, in January last. In
this case the Attorney General entered
9solle pros as to Bush and asked that he be
be brought out ON writ of hdbedS corpus.
This was done and Bush was placed on tho
stand to convict Davis. The story he told
was substantially as follows:
He stated that early in the month of
January Davis and himself stole
sloop and went down the Bay with
the design of robbing Spruance's grocery
store. Arriving there and breaking in,
they did not find such plunder as suited
them. Sailing up the Beach they saw close
by the water a large house which Davis
proposed to him to rob. This was Enoch
Spruance's house.) They landed and went
up to the house. Davis raised window
and entered and Bush followed. Davis
struck light in the dining room. Here
they found nothing but some books which
DAVIS wanted to destroy, but Bush, being
of a literary turn of mind, kept them for
himself. They then proceeded up stairs
and Bush gave Davis chisel and Davis
proceeded TO pry open the drawers and look
for money. They found none. Bush then
told Davis they might as well take
what would be of use to them. They then
took .he sheets from the bed and placing
them on the floor piled in all the valuables
they could find, such as silk dresses, china
ware, clothing aud other material This
plunder, amounting to four large bags full,
they put In the sloop and set sail up the
Bay. The next day they landed nowhere,
but the day after, theyscame up Spruance's
Sluice and put their cargo ashore, about q
mile from house occupied by John
Groves and wife Elizabeth, who is Davis
aunt. They met Groves and his wife
muskrat hunting near where they landed
They acquainted the Groves family with
the transaction and Bush agreed to let
storing them in their house. This was
agreed to, and part of the goods were
taken there by the whole gang.
Mrs. Groves had cast longing eye on
| the silk dresses and wanted them in her
store, but Bush wanted them himself for
his wife and would not give them to her. AS
soon as they got to the house, Bush and
Mrs. Groves set about dividing and she
| tried to cheat him out of his fair share by
Ol Nf 10 Kuta
was not looking but Sam caught her, and
made her do the square thing. After these
goods had been divided, Bush put his share
up and DAVIS and he carried them to Bush 3
house in Wilmington, Jack Groves agreeing
in the meantime to watch the goods that
had been left on the beach. The next
morning Bush and Davis returned to
Groves, but that delectable family had got
the best of them. The goods on the beach
were missing and Groves said that the
goods had been carried off in the night by
people who were cunning about there.
Bush could not swallow that yarn and he
thinks the people who gunned for those
goods were no less than John and Elizabeth
Groves.
Bush also implicated DAVIS in the robbery
of the skiff at Holly Oak, for which they
had trial, yesterday, resulting in Bush's
conviction and Davis acquitta].
John Groves and his wife were present
while it was given and when he pointed
them out as the receivers of the goods theii
faces showed all the colors of the rainbow
Their arraignment on the charge Of receiv.
ing is not improbable.
Davis had no defense and the jury, aftel
a considerable absence, returned verdic
of guilty. Without Bush's testimony Davii
never could have been convicted, and Busl
says he would never have turned States
evidence had Elizabeth Groves done thu
square thing by him, yesterday, in the skif
trial and not given him away to save he
nephew, Davis.
State U.s. John King and William Roam
colored. Larceny of lamb from JasoI
} Davis at New Castle. The jury found {
verdict ''not guilty"
State vs. Peter Thomas and George
, Goldsborough, colored, obstructing the
Del. r. Il. at Beasten's crossing. They
| were arraigned, pleaded "not guilty" anC
the trial was put over to Monday. L. O
Bird, Esq appears for the defense.
Court adjourned till p. M, ,butin the af
ternoon no important business occupied
the Court further than the settling of two
or three liquor cases and the forfeiting o.
bail bonds in the State Revenue cases
Court adjourned shortly after p. M, un
til Monday morning.