Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-06-17
BROWN AND EGAN
Charged with an Assault with a Deadly
Weapon-Outline of the Defense.

The case of the People VS.. Lee Brown
and Thomas Egan, charged with assaulting
], NJ. Hotz with Ratchet in the Grand
Hotel on May 1st,was called for trial before
Judge Van Fleet in Department One of the
Superior Court yesterday. The jury i'm
paneled to try the cause is composed of the
following citizens: John Johnson, John
Lockhart, Henry Fisher, Albert Grubbs,
Robert Allen, Mver Stein, A. Wassman, r.
+. Redman, Charles Lee, Peter Newman.
John brennan, w. Neidhardt.
l. S. Brown, who is assisting the District
Attorney in the prosecution, briefly out
lined the case and stated what they ex-
pected to prove.
The first witness called was DR.. Parkinson.
He said on May LIST Mr.. Hotz came to his
office to be treated for a wound on de
head 1t had been recently made; was on
the left side of the head, above the ear, one
and a quarter inches in length was in
cised; had been recently made, and reached
to the bone. He did not think the skull
was fractured. Witness, on being shown
Ratchet, said such wound could have been
made with that instrument
j. NJ Hotz said he was a married man.
and had lived in this city for many years.
assault Egan came TO his room and said he
wanted to see young lady. He told him
there was no young lady in that room for
him. Told him it was my door. Egan
became very abusive and asked me if was
running the house. He then applied vile
epithets to me and struck me. | resisted
and struck back. Egan got away and said:
81 will get warrant for you" He went to
the head of the stairs and called for Lee
Presently he came back with Brown
When l opened the door | had Ratchet
in my hand. Egan rushed by Brown and
caught me by the throat. We had a
scutfle. Brown took the Ratchet from me-
| was struck, and fell TO the floor, with
Egan on top OF me, and, holding me by
the throat, tried to strike me. When my
wife came with the pistol Brown said to
Egan, we are in the wrong roomn and
they left They were strangers to me-
| felt the blow upon my head before fell
When got up my head was bleeding, and
there was a deep cut in it. fell in the
middle of the floor and did not strike any,
thing in falling. | can't say whether |
was struck with the Ratchet or not | re-
ceived the blow while Egan had me by the
throat, and Brown was on my left. While
l was down and being choked by Egan,
who was also trying to strike me- Brown
|
wrong box"
Mrs Hotz, the wife of the defendant, was
the next witness. She said Brown took the
Ratchet and struck her husband on the
head with it while the latter was being
| held by Egan. Brown then threw the
Ratchet under the sofa. Both the defend
ants had hold of her husband, and Egan
choked him until he was black in the face
| when | went and got the pistol they
both skipped out-Brown first, Egap closely
following She then gave all the minor
| details of the assault and claimed
that she never had seen either
/ of the defendants prior to that
time in her life. She said her
husband was going to chop kindling
preparatory to making fire, which was
the reason for his having the Ratchet in
his hands She said her husband did not
fall against anything, and that she drove
the defendants down stairs at the point of
PISTOL. She said she lived in the rooms
where the assault was made, but that her
husband resided in the alley between NJ
and n, Seventh and Eighth streets She
said Mr.. Edgerton had called to see her on
several occasions, saying he was friend
of Mr. Brown, would defend him in
case of suit but offered to
compromise it on money basis,
l refused his proffers, telling him that in
so doing | would be compromising a felony
l did not tell Mr.. Edgerton that Brown
drew a pistol on me. | said he thrust his
hand under his coat and said, "None of
| that" On cross-eXamination she denied
having ever shown officer Franks dent in
the floor, saying, There is where the
Ratchet struck" or anything of that kind.
| did not say to certain women in the
house that | was sorry interfered and did
not let them kill him-though | may have
said so to others. When Mr.. Edgerton de-
manded of me how much it would
take to settle the matter, | re-
ferred him to Mr.. Hotz, saying he was
the party to be consulted in the matter, and
not me. He called again, and asked me to
name my price He said | was damaged
and should be paid for it. He was friend
of Browns and was doing this for him.
He knew but little about Egan. At the
Police Court he took me into Il private
room, and asked me to name my price
right away. Two or three other persons
| tried to induce me to accept money and
| leave town.
| When witness was pressed for those
names she refused to give them until
ordered to do so by the Court. She then
said it was Leo Straussman and his wife.
who now reside at 217 Second street, San
| Francisco.
Willie Horton, stepson of Mr. Hotz, was
the next witness. He related what he had
seen, which was corroborative of his
mothers testimony. When Egan throttled
my father | went to interfere, and Brown
said to me, Go and sit down on tack"
Saw my father have Ratchet in his hand
don't know who used it; the next time |
saw it it was under the sofa On cross
examination, he said he was II years of
| age.
Mrs. Drake, proprietress of the Grand
| Hotel. was the next witness, and corrobora-
ted the testimony of Mr. Hotz and his wife
With her testimony the prosecution rested.
THE DEFENSE.
Grove L. Johnson outlined the defense to
the jury. He said they would prove that
on the morning stated defendants called at
the Grand Hotel to see a friend Mistaking
a door, Mr.. Egan knocked at Mr. Hotz's,
who came out, cranky and cross. applied
the most approbious epithets, struck Egan
in the face and most fiercely assaulted him.
Egan was taken by surprise, was very in
dignant and going to the head of the stairs
called for Brown. They both went to
| Hotz's room for an explanation, to
have the matter explained, and arrange
for its being kept quiet. Hotz opened
upon Egan with a Ratchet and if blow
directed at Egan's head with the Ratchet
had not been warded off, the latter would
to-day be sleeping in the City Cemetery.
Brown saved Egan's life by catching the
Ratchet, wrestling it from Hotz's grasp and
flinging it under the sofa. Hotz, when he
| fell, struck q table or some of the furniture
in the room, and in that manner was the
wound in the head made and not with the
Ratchet. Mr.. Edgerton, knowing Mrs. Hotz
very well, having been her attorney
in a divorce suit, did call upon her
Hotz sent an attorney to them, asking for a
monetary settlement They were willing
at one time to settle the matter by paying
something, provided the matter could be
hushed up, kept from their families and
out of the daily papers. When, however,
the matter was made public they informed
him that they had no money for him.
Eleven days after the assault he filed his
complaint. He had gone to doctor but
once, and he wanted a MILAN dollars for
damages. Hotz was was but slightly hurt,
but he tried to make 800 out of it.
He wanted a 800 plaster for his slight
abrasion of the scalp. Egan was hurt con-
siderably more than Hotz, for he had a
head put on him that lasted a week. This
is a case that never should have been
brought, and is one of those things that
will happen to people who live in certain
| localities A vi 40 i,