Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1884-01-22
QUEER CONFLICT OF EVIDENCE.
Robes Charged with Being Princi.
pal In the B0etzel Burglary.

CA
pal In she BOetzel Burglary.
John Robles, q young Mexican, was ar
raigned yesterday and examined before
Justice Harmon on the charge Of being an
sccomplice with Marco BelBarba in the
robbery Of Otto Boetzel, on Sunday morn
ing, the 7th of January. The officers
have had Robes in prison since that date,
but nothing was said Of the matter in
order to give them an opportunity to work
up the case without the hindrance that a
publication might interpose. Tit princi-
pal witness against Robles was DelBarba,
who had been committed to await the
action Of the Grand Jury, charged with
the same crime.
DelBarba, being sworn, deposed, in
substance. as follows: Friday night, Jan.
B, l was in Joe Mendes' saloon, and Robes
asked me how / had made it at faro. /
told him l had lost everything. The next,
Saturday, night he met me there again. /
was walking up and down between the
keno and faro tables. When he questioned
me. and l told him the same thing again,
that all my money was gone into the game,
he called me out to the sidewalk. He said
l needn't work to get money. He pointed
out to me Otto Boetzel, who was drinking
at the bar, and he said: "We'll go up to
his cabin tonight and rob him." We
agreed on it, and / went back into the
saloon to watch Boetzel while Robes
stayed out in the street some place. Boet-
eel went put about IL o'clock Saturday
night and Robles and I, after waiting
awhile, followed him up the gulch. When
we got near his cabin there was a light in
/ IL and wa heard uoieaa ino;da az wa wQpt
away. Coming down town, we sepa-
rated, and l vent to the Truckee,
where I stayed an hour or more. Then l
came out and met Robes. We went back
up to Boetzel's cabin. We tried the front
door and the door to the woodshed in the
rear. They were both locked. Robes
took q knife and cut through the canvas
on the shed roof which made into the hill.
With my help he got through to the
ground and then placed boxes so I could
| get down easy. We lit a match and found
the woodshed door propped with a stick
and the door leading therefrom into
| Boetzel's room locked. We looked around
and found a chisel with which Robes
pushed the bolt back. l waited ON the
look out in the shed while he vent in. He
lit matches inside and was gone a few
minutes when he came out and brought
me q watch and chain and an opera glass.
He said there ought to be some money,
but he couldn't find it. He fixed the
sheet over him and went back to look
again. / saw him inside with a candle in
his hand and pretty soon l heard the man
in the bed yell out. l then ran away. Be-
fore We went inside Robes had said we
had better swap hats first and I had ex-
changed with him. l got some distance
off and waited for him to come up to me.
He arrived bareheaded and he asked me il
/ had another hat. / told him yes, I had an
old black one at home. He said: "Well,
then, you had better give me mine," and l
did so. He handed me then 9 pistol, and
| he said to me: You hide these things,
n If anybody asks you any questions,
Just keep your mouth shut. II you tell
anything and / get q chance, I'll kill you"
| The witness swore, also, that he gave his
testimony voluntarily and without any
fear or hope of reward or inducement held
out to him by the officers to confess.
The defendant Robes had no attorney.
He undertook to c~ross-question the wit
ness himself, but finding him firm in his
story gave it up.
Officer Walsh was called and testified
that the morning after the burglary he
took a pair Of Robes shoes to the spot and
| lUuuu tuht tuc ltlt euu6 utb6Q lutO Tue
tracks he found there. From this shoe
the heel was worn off on one side and he
found this ~irregularity marked in the
track. There were other tracks there but
the snow had melted to such an extent
that he could not extend his investigation
any further.
The defendant being asked II he had any
witnesses on his behalf called Frank
Riegelhuth. Mr.. Riegelhuth could say
only that he saw Robes at Tatti's dance
house some time between s and IL O'Clock
the night preceding the burglary, but did
not notice him there afterwards.
j. II. Ferris, the pianist in the same
place, being called by the defendant, testi-
fed that he saw Robes there from 10
O'Clock till about 4 o'clock in the morning,
and that he does not think he was absent
at any time for an hour, although he conld
not swear positively to that effect, it was
only his impression.
Robles, under oath, said he had seen
DelBarba several times, but he had never
spoken to him anywhere in his life. He
denied the formers statements entirely.
District Attorney CARRIER, who con-
Quoted the examination on behalf Of the
State, called Joe Mendes to the witness
stand. Mr.. Mendes could not say posi-
AFSAI thos hC aO6ho 1Cto0A Qb ana ASOOACS
talk together in his saloon on Friday and
Saturday evenings, but he saw them CLOSE
together standing by the stove, and he
thought they were engaged in a CONVERSE
ton. He was certain, however, that he
had seen them conversing with each other
on the streets. Saturday night he saw
DelBarba moving excitedly around the
keno table and cycling Otto Boetzel, who
was playing, as though something was the
matter.
This ended the investigation. The Dis
triot Attorney said he would offer no sug-
gestion, but would leave the matter en-
tirely to His Honor. Justice Harmon said
he thought IL was q case that the Grand
Jury ought to pass upon. He believed
that there was an element of doubt in
volved, owing TO Mr.. Ferris testimony,
and the chances were that before q jury he
would escape through that evidence, going
only as far as il did to establish an alibi
hence, he would place his bail ct $500, the
lowest amount he could name.
A Natural TrOtter.
Jay-Eye-See is so perfectly balanced in