The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1884-08-07
A GREAT SENSATION.
a DEVsLESH PLOT TO BLACK EN
THE FAIR CESAExACTER OE
INNOCENT rEEN.
The Aurora Sensation r G RIM ma te d
lisa tsac Dismissal Of the Accused
Parties without n Hearing.
A ..COIOred Cuss', in the Cord ~ SOd
S0lsls sV here.

Some six or eight weeks ago, one
Elmer l.. Ellsworth was arrested and
placed under bond for his appearance
Mt the September term of Court, to
answer to the charge of sheep stealing.
The circumstances of his arrest were
substantially as follows: A Mr.. Blair,
of Aurora, had missed sheep from his
flock, 90 he concluded to keep an eye
open. One night he saw a man in his
flock, apparently tying his art. Mr..
B. called to him to halt, after seeing
the thief move off, but the thief needed
not, so B. fred charge from his shot
gun after him, which brought him to
time. The thief was brought here and
as above stated, put under FOND, Since
then efforts have been made to ferret
out the gang, as there evidently is one.
El>worth, hoping to make something
by IT, pretended to turn States evil
dence, and to disclose his co conspita-
tors. He made most wonderful rev.
elations, alleging that Charles Bur-
roughs, Herman Hoppy, John Moore
and Augustus TheIsa, all were his con-
federates. That he and they had car
rieg on system of burglary and rob-
berry since 1878; that they committed
the Hurd robbery in 1880, in which
they captured $500 in U. s. bonds, $500
in gold, 81 900 in money and 800 in
dry goods that they broke into Peck's
store, at Streetsboro, and tried to do SO
twice since; stole sheep and calves.
and anything they could handle.
That Thelsa, who resides in Cleveland,
took the sheep and pelts of them, and
that many other crimes which were
actually committed in Aurora during
this time, were committed by them,
and that Charles Burroughs was the
leader of the gang. In addition to this
story narrated he had several letters
purporting to have been written by
these parties respectively, and signed
by them, one, especially, signed by
Burroughs as leader of the gang, and
designates the place as 8" the Safe Re-
treat" He also directed and accom-
panied the officer to various places in
Aurora and Mantua, where stolen
goods were secreted and evidence of
theft found, some of them the places of
the alleged eonspiratnrs.
The entire fabrication was SO plausi-
BILE that warrants were issued, the ar
rests made, and the time for the pre-
liminary trial of the alleged conspIra-
tors set for Saturday morning at 10
o'clock, before Justice HOlcomb, at
Citizens Hall, this village. This
brought to town a large crowd of AurO-
raand Streetsboro people, and the ex-
element ran high, nearly everyone
discrediting the story of the young
sheep thief, at least so far rs Burroughs
was concerned, he having lived i'll
Aurora for thirty years, and during all
that time sustained a good character
for honesty And integrity.
The hour for The hearing arrived hut
the State was not ready to proceed,
aud the case was continued till after
noon to await the return of officer
Gibbons, who had been sent to ferret
out more evidence against the accused.
While anXiously awaiting the return
of the fiicer, 81 report WAS set atiOat
that he had been shot in the leg, in
Mantua, while searching the premises
of one of the accused. This Was doubt.
less a scheme to turn the tide of public
sentiment, which was evidently
strongly in favor of the innocence of
Burroughs, at least. The story was
base fabrication.
The Court met at about Z o'clock in
the evening, but the counsel for the
State being still unprepared the hear
ing was postponed till ten o'clock
Monday morning.
Monday morning came, but 10 what
a surprise! The prosecuting counsel
asked that the case be dismissed on the
ground that there was no evidence to
hold Mr.. Burroughs; that there was
no doubt that Mr.. Burroughs was en-
tirely innocent, and the rest doubtless
were also.
1t is now we'll settled that the letters
were base forgeries, and the entire
story a fabrication devised to screen
the guilty by bringing innocent par
ties in and blackening their fair char
acter upon the mere word of confessed
sheep thief and abandoned villain.
The Prosecuting Attorney of the
county took no part, directly or indi-
rectly. in the proceedings.