The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-02-13
CirCuil Court.

-, from a store nj In Sale, and who pleaC
cniltv wns on Tuesday sentenced to tw'
wears in the penitentiary by Judge Blanch
ard.
Rosert White, of Ottawa, charged witt
assault with attempt to kill and murder
was found guilty by the jury Thursday al
ternoon and was given year ut Jolie
New Years morning last White assaulted his
aged mother with chair and beat her in
sensible.
On the Doth of May last Chas. Spellman
a sporting character and gambler of Strea
tor. was arrested for holding up and roboinp
Hungarian named John Hozea of large
sum Of money. He was arrested and bound
over 10 await the action of the grand jur
which body duly indicted him, together with
a Young man named Edward Harvey Of the
same city, for highway robbery. In the ex
animation before the justice Of the peace al
Streator. Harvey appeared as a witness
against him and was allowed to go free, but
was afterwards arrested at Peoria on July 8
The latter in the examination before the grand
Jury swore that his testimony at the prelim.
mary examination was false Spellman
after having lain in Jail here since his arrest
was placed on trial Monday afternoon, his
attorneys being Duncan and Blake, Harvey
and Doll being the principal Witnesses, as lilo
yea, the man who was robbed, was dead.
Harvey again changed his testimony as adj
verse to the defendant. The case took up the
attention of the court until about p. N.
Wednesday afternoon when, after the attor-
neys on both sides had exhausted themselves
in scathing terms pro and con, the case was
given to the jury. As this was the first case
in this state of the kind since the Supreme
court had affirmed the constitutionality Of the
habitual criminal act, Spelman if found
guilty of highway robbery could not be sent
60 the penitentiary for n less term than IA
years, he having previously served time in
that institution. Doll testified that on the
night of the robbery Spelman came into his
saloon and exhibited a roll Of bills, and on
being questioned where he got the money
stated that he had robbed man. His evi.
dence, however, was weakened by his sworn
statement that he had said he would send
Spellman to the pen If he could. Harvey, |
who had testified both for and against the
prisoner, made but little impression on the
Jury. The fact that IA years sentence
would be the result Of conviction had also |
great weight with the jury who were loath |
10 impose such penalty. The first ballot
stood eleven for acquittal, and on the next
Spellman was free man. When the news
was impaired to the prisoner the scene be-
tween him and his wife, who was present
during the trial with her little girl was very
affecting. In half an hour after the jury |
retired Spcllman walked out Of the court |
free man
Following is portion of the cases dis
posed of last week in this court, which were
omitted from the record published on Feb |
9Th:
CRIMINAL.
Peopies' Gases. Frankie Rogers, keeping
house of i'll fame, stricken with leave; same,
keeping tipping house and selling without
license, same order; Elliott Il Munson, Elias
Josephson and Theodore Hartman, larceny,
HoAe pros; Martin Skorubski, burglary and
larceny, same; benjamin Ltttlefair, recog
discharged; William G Parker, forgery,
stricken with leave, &c; John Kirkpatrick,
William O'Neill and Chas Mcpherson, burg
larry and larceny, same order; James Hynes,
larceny, nollc pros; Geo Dykes, obtaining
money undea false prctenscs, also larceny,
nolle pros DR. W II Fraser, attachment, dis
missed; Il Conkln, David Richly and "
Briggs, contempt, dismissed; Burton Mead.
ows and Albert Cohn, rccog, discharged.
CHANCERY.
Frederick Glenn Isaiah Boyer ct al,
stricken with leave to rcinstato; Anna
TOombs John Rackenham ct al, same or
N'f, fNOGhWtli bdHh Inc MclllOlu vas |
Go ct al, dismissed by compainant David S
Hoguc Mahon Fell ct al, bill dismissed by
complainant with leave to move to SCI aside
order of dismissal; John Spencer ct al
Horace Moore, admr, &c, stricken with
leave 10 reinsta,e; Mary Coles Margaret A
Sehott, forcl dismissed at compliments
costs; Union Coal Co James OMalley, dis
missed; NJ Byrne Catharinc Donoghue,
settled; Theodore kcarns ct el Charles A
Seherfer ct al same order; John Borngasser
= Jacob Jacobs, dismissed by complainant;
Edward A Rowland, by his next friend
John Eisenhuth, Henry A Rowland ct al,
dismissed by complainant without prejudice;
Anna J Averill Melvin A Averill, divorce,
stricked with leave, &c; Henry Seiber
Hannah Seiber, divorce, dismissed by plain.
Tiff; Seth W Ballard Alkaline Ballard, di
vorce, dismissed by plaintiff without preu,
dice; George Beatty, assignee, &c, v Bird
Bickford, stricken with leave, &c; Jonathan
Crawford Malissa Crawford, bill dismissed
nj plaintiff 3 costs; James + Crane Advert