Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-14
In HIS OWN BEHALF.
Wong Ark Denies That He
Shot GOot Cue.
He Was Hitting the Pipe When
the Shooting Occurred.
The Defense Make Out an Alibi With
Three Witnesses.
An Interesting Day in the Murder Trial.
The Prosecution Introduces Evi-
dence In Rebuttal.

The defense sprung their alibi yester-
day in the Wong Ark trial, and intro
duced two Chinese witnesses who swore
that they were smoking opium with tn e
defendant at the time of the shooting,
on the night of April Goth. When court
assembled in the morning District At
torney McLachlan and Interpreter Chan
Kiu Sing took the stand and testified
to immaterial facts.
Ah Deck, merchant, was then called.
He does general merchandise business,
and has known Wong Ark two or three
years. On the day that Goot Cue was
shot he saw Wong Ark several times.
On the night of the murder he was with
Ark at the laundry, smoking opium
from 8 pm. to ! am, when the witness
went back to sleep. Deck located the
laundry on the map as well as the room
where he and Wong Ark were smoking.
Sue Woon was also there, having come
in about fifteen minutes after the wit
ness's arrival. When Deck left at a. m.
Wong Ark was still there smoking
opium. The next day he heard that
Wong Ark had killed a woman, and
talked with his partners about it, being
under the impression that the shooting
occurred in the morning. Deck then
went to Ark and said to him: You
killed a woman" Ark said that
he did not, and asked what time
the shooting occurred. Deck informed
him, (although he said he did not know
himself) and Ark replied that at that
hour he and Deck were smoking together
In the laundry.
Going back little the witness said
that while he and Ark were together in
the laundry the night before, between 10
and IL o'clock. they heard pistol shot.
Deck said, "Listen-a pistol shot," and
after discussing the matter they came to
the conclusion that some one was prac-
ticing craftsmanship. The witness re-
turned to the laundry at O'Clock the
next day; Ark was still there and had
never been out of the building.
Under cross-examination Deck said
that he left his store at O'Clock on the
night OF the murder. His partner and
a number OF other Cinnamon were in
the store when he left, but just who the
other men were he could not
remember. He knew it was be-
fore 8 O'Clock when he left, for
he looked at his watch. He went di-
rectly to the laundry to smoke, but did
not tell his partner where he was going.
Ark was at the laundry when he got
there and Sue Woon came soon after
ward. Woon, who was the proprietor
of the place, asked Deck if he wanted to
smoke. There was only one pipe and
after Deck had smoked it he handed it
to Woon, who, in turn, handed it to
Ark. The witness was positive that he
did not leave the place till after 10
O'Clock. A candle was burning in the
room all of the time. Deck did not
have his own opium, but smoked Wong
Ark's. He did not see Goot Cue that
night. Woon soon went into another
room to lay down, saying that he had to
get up early and work. Ark, Woon and
the witness were in the room when the
pistol shot was fred. Woon explained
that it was common occurrence for pis-
tolls to be fred off in the back yard. He
first heard of the murder at 10 O'Clock
that night. He also heard people talk
ing about it in the street when he got
up next morning. They accused Wong
Ark of killing the woman and he asked
them when it occurred. They told him
at 10 o'clock the night before, and
he said that it was impossi
BILE for Wong Ark to have killed
Goot Cue, as he was smoking opium
with the witness as the time of the
shooting. At 2 O'Clock on that day he
went to Ark, who was still in bed, and
said: "Men say that you killed Goot
Cue" Ark did not get up but turned
over and went to sleep.
A juror-Do you know what time it
was when the shot was fired?
The witness-Yes; it was at 0:30.
looked at my watch as soon as l heard
the shot.
Sue Woon was the next witness, and
testified that he has kept laundry in
Los Angeles for the past two or three
years. On being shown the pistol found
in Ark's room, the witness identified it
as his own, which he bought in San
Francisco. He kept it in his room under
the pillow. Woon was in his laundry
at the time of the shooting, with Ark
and Deck. He left to go to bed at mid
night, leaving the other two men still
there.
The event of the day was the calling
of Wong Ark to the stand to testify in
his own behalf. He testified as follows
my name is Wong Ark, and am the
defendant in this action. | live in
Fook's building, upstairs. l own a pis-
toll something like this one lbeing
shown the pistol which is supposed to
have killed Goot Gue.) The last time /
fred my pistol off was on the American
New Year, and it has not been dis
charged since. In the evening of the
day Goot Cue was shot was at Woon's
laundry. / went there at 8 80 O'Clock.
No one was there when got there, but
Ah Deck came soon afterwards. Woon
came in at about 10 o'clock Woon
went to bed before Deck and I left.
was not out OF the room from the time
Deck arrived, until he left. heard the
shot, and Deck said: 'Listen-a pistol
shot, Woon then said: 1T is not un-
common for people to come around
here and FIRE off their pistols then
undressed and retired.
"Ah Deck came to see me the next
day about Q o'clock. He said: why
don't you get up?' told him was
sick, and he said why, the policemen
accuse you Of having shot Goot Cue. /
asked him when the shooting occurred