Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-18
The Court Record.
Superior Court-Criminal side-Judge
 Sanford.

Superior Court-Criminal Side-Judge
 Sanford.
 This court came in yesterday morning at 10 o'clock
 Four prisoners were brought down from jail, They were Francis Carroll, indicted by the grand jury for the murder of Michael Early, in Wallingford; Charles s. Riggs, un- der indictment for the murder of Rollin P. Bunnell, in Naugatuck; Donohue, half crazy tramp and Eugene F. Yeamans, charged with shooting at Thomas J. Griffin in this city, December 16th, with intent to kill
 The case of Yeamans was the first one | taken up. At his trial in the City Court the evidence of Dr. Jewett and others proved the prisoners insanity to the satisfaction of the court, and Judge Sheldon would have sent him to the Middletown hospital for the insane had the law given him authority to do so. Yeamans twas consequently committed to jail On being put to plead in the Supe- rior Court several days ago he pleaded not 1 guilty. The trial yesterday morning occupied 1 a few minutes. After the impanneling of the l jury Thomas J. Griffin took the stand and l related the story of the shooting as he told it in the City Court; Yeamans came up be- 1 hind him and fired two shots, one of which passed between Grifin's arm and his | body.
 1 The jury after being out q short time re. 1 turned verdict of not guilty on the ground of insanity. Judge Sanford gave an order l for the confinement of the accused in the | Insane asylum until the further order of the court, or until the is discharged as cured.
 1 Daniel Donohue was sent to jail from l Guilford last month for being tramp. He l then gave strong indications of insanity and his subsequent actions removed all doubt about l it. In the dock yesterday morning he passed back and forth, sometimes moaning plain | lively and again crying outright, wringing his hands and acting as if overcome with grief. Two or three times his conduct threat ened to seriously interfere with the good l order of the court room, but the sheriffs managed to keep the prisoner from any vio- lent outbursts. Judge Sanford charged the jury the same as in the other case where in- sanity was an element. The verdict was not guilty on the sole ground of insanity. The same order was made as in the other case commitment to the insane hospital.
 Attorney Williams, of Seymour, on behalf of Charles s. Riggs, the so.called Naugatuck murderer, moved that the indictment against his client be quashed because it had not been returned to court signed either a true bill or not true bill-had not been returned at all as an indictment for murder in the first de- gree, was not properly endorsed and was not properly signed, it appearing that Benjamin foreman" had sigred the document when there was no such person on the grand jury. MT. Doolittle said it was enough that the jury returned to court and indicated in any manner that they had found 8 true bill. The signature of the foreman amounted to noth- ing the indictment and the indictment alone was to be looked to and not the endorsement so long as Ca true bil' was written. In Vir- ginia grand jury once returned ''atrue gun'' on bill of indictment relating to the shoot ing of man with a gun and the bill was de- clared all right.
 Judge Sanford said he should like time to look into the matter: it certainly point that needed looking into.
 In the afternoon, on the opening of court, Judge Sanford quashed the Riggs indictment and the then went to the grand jury.
 At 4:35 the grand jury came in with a true bill against Riggs. The grand jury were then excused for the term with the thanks of tho court.
 Court adjourned until this morning at 10 o'clock.