Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-10-04
A MISCELLANEOUS DAY.
The Different Gases Before the Dis
trICt Court-Frank StOddnrt
Pleads-A BOY Thief.

This mornings session of the Third
District Court was remarkable for the
almost entire absence Of cohabs., as well
as for the many different classes OF Grim
inals who appeared.
The first business taken up was the
arraignment OF S. NJ. Lovendahl upon the
rather unusual charge of turning water
from public ditch" The defendant
entered plea OF not guilty.
Mr.. Rawlins then arose and stated that
q client OF his Walter j. Hewlett, who
| had been indicted for murder in the first
degree, was given to epileptic fits, and
that he was sometimes taken with them
as often as twice day. He said he did
not see how the defendant could be
brought into court, as any little excite
ment was liable to throw him into a fit.
| He therefore asked that the case be con-
tinued for the term.
Mr.. Dickson objected to the continu-
ance, stating that the case had already
| been put off time after time, and that he
was unwilling to dismiss the case, because
sible, despite his ailment.
whether or not the defendant could
stand the excitement OF trial, and he
therefore ordered that he be required to
appear in court tomorrow morning.
Frank Stoddart, the boy rapist, who
was arraigned on Friday last, was then
brought up to plead. He entered plea
OF not guilty. Mr.. Critchelow, who was
appointed to defend the boy, stated that
he had not yet had chance to procure
witnesses for the defense, and would
therefore like q little time in which to
prepare for the trial. The case was,
therefore, continued until Wednesday
morning next at 10 o'clock.
Lucien Adams, one of the boys en-
gagged in the recent robbery OF Sadie
Mobiles mdisOn de jOie, was the next
prisoner called. The boy, who is only II
years old and quite small for his age,
went forward, and while standing on tip
toe to look over the edge of the clerk s
desk, he listened to the reading of the
Indictment He is charged with stealing
two pistols, and when asked for his plea
he said he was guilty of stealing one of
them. The boys mother, who is q
widow, appeared with him and said that
she had sent him to school, she was
obliged to go out washing for living and
it was impossible for her to keep track of
him. The boy promised to do better in
the future, and after little lecture from
the Court he was allowed to go free with
a suspended sentence hanging over his
head during his good behavior.
Next, just to make things seem more
natural, Clerk Mcmillan called Rasmus
Nelson up for arraignment on unlawful
cohabitation Indictment. Brother Mel
son listened attentively and after ex-
pressing his innocence in Danish and
Swedish he got some sort of urim and
humnltm combination on his tongue and
succeeded in making the Court under
stand that his plea was not guilty.
THE TUFTS CASE.
The only case tried to-day was that
against Elbridge Tufts, charged with as
sault with intent to do bodily harm upon
his brother, Don G. Tufts.
1t would seem, from the testimony in
troduced by the prosecution, that on the
Both of May last, while Elbridge Tufts
was irrigating his lot, he allowed the
water to overflow on to the sidewalk and
garden OF his brother, Don c., and that
when the latter went to turn the water
off, the former struck at him with the
cuSC vi oiloNel, anu Illul IL was only ny
Don's throwing up his arm that he was
saved from receiving the blow in the
head.
The defense, on the other hand, claim
that in the first place, tie water had not
run on to Don's property, and that in the
second place, Elbridge did not strike at
his brother, but was simply trying to get
his shovel into the water to move the
dam.
The case is rather complicated one,
and brings out story OF long strife be-
tween the two brothers. The jury is de-
batting upon the case at the time we go to
press, and they will not be denied the
pleasure OF deciding the case.