Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-28
THE HIGH-ROLLERS.
JUSTICE OWENS LETS ALL OF THEM
60 FREE.
But He Holds Mrs. Potthof to Answer.
The Curious Result of Trial in His
Court Yesterday.

| Sergeant Jeffries had his eight
''high-toned" alleged disturbers of the
peace up before Justice Owens yesterday
afternoon for trial, and is now thinking
that "there's many a Slip" because the
trial resulted in way that astonished
the big preserver of the public peace. 1t
will be remembered that Guy and Dem
mis- Longstreet, the two McDougall boys,
and two young women of rapid tenden-
cies, were arrested in the We'll block on
South Main street about midnight of
October 14th, where they were
having a sociable evening, with
refreshments. They were brought
to the police station and gave
fictitious names, and were charged
with disturbing the peace. The land
lady, Mrs. Potthof, declined to sign a
complaint the next day, whereupon
Sergeant Jeffries swore to it, including
Mrs. Potthof and her friend, Mrs. Fow-
Ter, in the list of defendants.
There was quite crowd in the court
room when the case was called, and the
defendants were all present. Sergeant
Jeffries took the stand and stated that
he was called at about II 80 at night by
Mrs. Fowler to the corner of Main and
Second streets, who said there was
disturbance upstairs in the We'll block.
He went with her and found Mrs. Pott-
hof in the hall with her hair down. She
told him there was crowd in the Nc
Dougall boys room; they had been hav-
ing high old time, and she wanted
them put out. She got buggy whip,
climbed in through window and un-
locked the door, letting him in. He saw
the remains of an impromptu jamboree
in the shape of sundry champagne bot
| ties, and as he went in there was a gen.
eral interchange of complaints between
the women, and Mrs. Potthof hit Guy
J Longstreet over the head with the whip.
She also, he thought, SHE'D stone
porter bottle at Mrs. Cora Walsh, one of
the hilarious guests of the "bloods."
The sergeant arrested the four young
men, Mrs. Cora Walsh and Mrs. M. S.
Tibbetts. and carted them to the station
in the patrol wagon. When Mrs. Pott-
hof went back on the complaint he
made her and Mrs Fowler, or Mrs. Will
son, as she is known, defendants.
The sergeant was a little bit excited
on cross-examination when counsel tried
to make it appear that he had exceeded
his duty, but he stuck to his story, and
said that he even went 30 far as to tell
the boys if they would go out peaceably
he would let them go; but when they
began to say it was their room and they
could do as they please, he ran them in.
He asserted that he heard the noise on
the street before he went up, and that
when Mrs. Potthof climbed in the win
i l. h. x.,1s H. Il
about it that he had no time to stop
her.
Mrs. Potthof then told her story,
which was that she was awakened by
Mrs. Fowler, who said she was afraid
there would be a disturbance in the
rooms, although there had been none at
that time. She asked the boys three
times to go out, and they said they
would, but didn't. She said she sent
for Sergeant Jeffries. Also that she
struck Longstreet, and created quite
sensation when she asserted that the
sergeant used the strongest language
used there. She said one of the girls
called her names.
The other defendants were then
called up one by one, and said in effect
that it was virtually Sunday school
meeting that was going on in the rooms.
They denied having made any noise or
used any bad language, and the boys
seemed to think the whole trial was
quite joke, because they could not
refrain from smiles and grins during the
examination. They admitted that the
landlady asked them to go out, but it
was their room, and they felt they had
right there.
The case was submitted without argu-
ment, and the most astonished person
in the room was Mrs. Potthof when the
court discharged all the defendants ex
cept herself, and directed her to appear