Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-31
THEY MEANT TO KILL.
At Least the Grand Jury at Somerset
Makes That Awful Charge
AGAINST -FOUR OF THE ACCUSED.
Two of the Sullivans, Fasker and Lewis
the Quartet Arraigned.
THE CHARGE OF BURGLARY SUSTAINED
,rno,L A srArr coRnnsroNpENr.

SOMERSET, May oO.-Ihe grand Jury this
no-ninq returned true bill against Jack.
son and Marshall Sullivan, Decatur Tasker
and Charles J. Lewis for assaultand battery
with intent to kill old Christian Yoder, who
made the information. 1t is forbidden BY
the rules or creed of his sect to go to law
and the much-abused Amish patriarch could
not be persuaded in the first instance to
make the charge of burglary against the
four men. That was done,by Hugh Miller,
a merchant of Summit Postofice, adjacent
to Mr.. Yoder's house.
1t was very difficult matter to get Mr..
Yoder to make this last charge, but alter he
had been in court for time his feelings be.
came sufficiently stirred up, and he con-
sented to have the information drawn up in
his name. The gentleman who made the in
formation for the first charge, Mr.. Miller. is
one of those who interested themselves in
the MeClellandtown robbers, and he was on
the point of having Tasker and Lewis arrested
as two of the gang who had been guilty Of so
many depredations in FayeUte county and the
neighboring portions of West Virginia and
MARYLAND He had learned they were in
Somerset county, but before he could make the
final move the crime against 1oder had been
committed and the men had left.
SURE OF TWO OF THE PARTIES.
Mr.. Miller had no doubt whatever as to at
least two of the guilty parties. He went to
work on the case with others, and was later
Joined by ex-Sheriff Kyle, who went into the
matter with all his might. and led the party
that made the arrests of the eight men who
have been on trial
The charge on which the two SulF kans and
Tasker and Lewis were tried is burglary. The
other four were charged with being accessories
before the fact This forenoon, after the evl-
dence was all in, Grant Dean was given hls
freedom on a nolle prosequi The bulk Of the
evidence against him was in the form Of things
he had said to others, and it was shown that
the greater part, or perhaps all of il. had been
spoken in Jest The testimony as to his former
good character was entirely in his favor. His
intimacy with Marshall Sullivan was because
the latter was married to his foster-sister.
The evid4ce against William B. Hill was
also of a character that failed TO prove him an
accessory TO the Yoder outrage before the fact,
but iG indicated very strongly that he was on a
friendly footing with the four against whom
the principal charge was made, that they Wis
ited his house and stored things there concern
ing which he admits he did not inquire very
closely. District Attorney Bissecker, there
fore, in the usual legal form, had
HILL DROPPED FROM THE CASE
this morning, but at the same time had him
held under $1,000 bail to answer to the next
regular term of court, the charge being an ac-
cessory to the burglary at Yoder's after the
fact and receiver Of stolen goods. Argument
as to whether there is sufficient evidence to
hold him for trial is to be made at the Argu-
ment Court Immediately following the present
term of the Criminal Court.
Tasker and Lewis are the other two of the de-
I PENDANTS who were placed on the stand to-day
in their own Defense and there was no attempt
by their counsel to prove an alIbi-or for that
matter, anything else in their behalf A num-
Der of witnesses were produced, however to
show that on the night of the Yoder outrage
the two Sullivans were helping to celebrate the
birthday OF their sister, Mrs. Dlnsmore. One
of the witnesses was Henry Sullivan, brother
of-two of he defendants. He is learning the
trade of molder at Uniontown. On the cross
examination General Koontz, to destroy his
credibility in the eyes of the jury forced him
Ito admit that he had served 81 years in the
Western PenitentIary for robbery. Sullivan,
kT-ho was but IL years old at the time was one
ITO rob HIM. They were to have received $500
each to rob him Of $500. He. Of course, was
to have the bulk of the money.
jackson Sullivan, when on the stand, con-
fessed that he was another of the party who
robbed the paymaster. He also served six and
a half wears in the penitentiary for it.
HAD A REFINING INFLUENCE.
Itisa somewhat remarkable fact that his
penitentiary experience seemed to have re-
fning influence on jackson Sullivan. In neat
ness of dress and smartHess of manners he is
strong contrast to the other defendants. His
brother Henry also seemed TO have profted by
his incarceration, and the two, so far as dress
and manners 60, are credit to Warden
Wrights academy.
The majority of the witnesses who went on
the stand for the defense admitted having
heard the four principal defendants and Hill
spOken of as the McClellandtown gang Jo-
seph Paul was the only witness. not relative of
the Sullivans, who was at Mrs. DinSmores BIRTH
day party and saw the Sullivan brothers there.
Peter Guseman, the only other person there
beside the Sullivans, is their second cousin and
stepfather OF Tasker. He knew nothing of
Tasker on the fatal date, and no evidence was
given by anyone to show II or the whereabouts
of Lewis He had lived a mile from Cool
Spring, the reputed headquarters of the Nc
Clellandtown gang, but had never heard of it
as such until he saw it in the newspapers after
the arrests.
jackson Sullivan, in his testimony, said that
after leaving the penitentiary he went to Ala
bama, where he remained three months, then
lived in Cincinnati for three months, went to
Michigan and worked at making brooms for
about three weeks, and, not liking the work.
went to Chicago; after looking around there
for couple of days he returned home to Fay
ette county; hunting has been his principal
occupation since then. In this way he &C
counted for
THE LOADED FowLING PIECE
which he said was his, found at HiIrs house.
but he didn't explain what kind of game he
expected to bring down with the 20 slugs in
addition to the bird-shot found in each shell.
He also denied that it was cooked when found.
He and his brother Marshall denied having
been in the neighborhood of Yoder's on the
night of the crime, and located themselves, in
stead, at Mrs. D1nsmores birthday party, say
ing they remained there over Sunday.
Jackson Sullivan and Hill denied che barri-
caded condition of the latter's house when the
arrests were made, or that any resistance had
been contemplated. They also denied the lam
guage attributed to Tasker by Sheriff Kyle,
who stated that when he was being handcuffed
to Hill he exclaimed: Il wish We had fought
until we had died We had intended to, but
the women made us surrender"
jackson Sullivan admitted one of the re-
rolvers found at Hilrs house was his, after try
ing hard to dodge direct answer.
Hill denied that when his house was sur
rounded and he and his wife came out on the
porch that he wanted to get away from its i'm
mediate neighborhood because those inside
were going to shoot He said that his language
at that time referred to the persons outside
who, he feared, intended to fire on the house.
Hill said all the parties at his house when
the arrests were made were merely there on q
sister, his aunt, was one of those present be-
SIDE his wife Lewis and Tasker and Miss
Deets They were not staying there, he
claimed, and Lewis and Tasker had only been
there once before yesterday. However Mrs.
Hill admitted Lewis and Tasker to be
BOARDING WITH THEM,
and Hill admitted that the first time they were
at his house they stayed several days, because,
he said their feet were sore with walking. He
was very ignorant concerning the bundles they
brought to his house, and hadn't known that
the stockings identified yesterday by Miss
Baker were there.
Marshall Sullivan admitted that Is years ago
he was In jail IN Somerset for eight months for
assault and battery and was twice aided to