Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-11
COURT GOSSIP.
Mrs. Nelson on Trial for
Receiving Stolen Goods.
INTERESTING TESTIMONY.
Oscar Wenzel and James Welch
Sentenced to San Quinten for
Stealing Hog.

The case Of Mrs. G. Nelson, charged
with running ''fence" on Los An
geles street, came up in Judge
Cheney's court yesterday morning.
The defendant, with her attorney, oc-
cupied seats at the bar.
G. II. Whittier, a boy about 12
years OF age, was put upon the stand
and said: | have known Mother Mel
son since some time in last Decem-
Der. One evening about Z 80 O'Clock
i'll last January [ was walking down
Hill street and l saw front door
open and sneaked in, and nipped an
overcoat and child's cloak. A
boy named Collins, about fifteen
years old, was with me. | took tie
coat to Mrs. Nelson and asked her to
buy it. She asked me where / got it,
and | told her l had stolen it. She
would not give me more than 50 for
it, for she said she was having good
deal Of trouble in selling stolen arti-
cles. She said that she had been
forced to give up good many gar
mepts, for the owners had come and
claimed them. l tried to make her
give me more but she would not, and
| agreed to take it. She threw So on
the counter, and | took $3.50 and
gave $3.50 to my pard. She would
not buy the cloak and we threw it
away on a vacant lot. ] sold her two
suits OF clothes at another time for SIS.
| and my pard were walking down
Olive street and he went into house
between Fourth and Fifth streets.
walked down toward the Pavilion,
and when he came out took one suit
on my arm and he took the other.
One suit was black diagonal and the
other was check. We walked down
Olive to Second and down Second to
Los Angeles. We did not meet any
policeman. She gave me $5 for the
two suits. We told her how and
where we got them. l do not re-
member the number OF the house.
James Denman said he was Is
years old last June. Upon being
cross-examined as to his evidence in
the examination in which he had said
he was 16 years old, he said he didn't
know how that was for he was born
in 1874. He said that he and two
others had gone to the cloak store
next to the postoffice on Main street,
and stolen silk dress some time in
the latter part part OF December last.
He had not gone in the store but
stood at the door trying to look in.
His companions had cody opened the
door and gone in and closed
it behind them, while the store
was brilliantly lit in the
evening, and had taken the dress,
folded it up, opened the door and
walked out, giving it to him to carry
to Mother Nelson. Arriving at that
place they had found Mrs. Nelson be-
hind the counter. When they said
they had something to sell she took
them into the little dressing room and
they showed her the dress. They
asked her to give them 81 for it, but
she would only give them $5, and this
sum they took and divided. He re-
ceived for his share only 81.
Mrs. Nelson was then called and
said: Chief Of Police Cuddy and Of
fieer Auble had instructed her to re-
ceiye stolen goods and pay some
money on them and tell the seller to
come back for the rest, by which
time she was to have the police on
hand to arrest the thief. Defendant
said she had made contracts with the
police for about three years, com
mencing with Chief of Police Davis.
She said that she had assisted the po.
lice to capture and convict over 500
thieves in the last three years. She
knew Whittier and Denman, but had
never bought any goods from them id
the presence of any one. She knew
Whittier was thief, and had told the
officers so. She knew Denman and
had bought pair of pants from him.
She thought he was a thief because
he brought SO many things. She
bought the pants from him after that.
At O'Clock the Judge interrupted
the cross examination and ordered a
recess until 10 A. NJ. this morning.