Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-01-29
Il SATURDAY MIGHT SPREE
THAT so EAR HAS RESULTED IN ONE
DEATH AND A TEN YEARS AWARD
10 TILE PIcNITEN-TIARY.


DEATH AND A TEN YEARS AWARD
TO THE PENITENTIARY.
TIE village Of Midway OF 'sSteele's Tav-
ernH is On the dividing line between Au-
gusta and Rockbridge. Between it and
Mt. Carmel Presbyterian church hundred
and fifty yards distant, are dozen residen-
ces. including the residence Of the pastor
of Mt. Carmel. A few yards beyond Mt.
Carmel ON the way to Staunton is the col
ored Methodist church. On Saturday
night, September 10Th, festival was being
held at this colored church. On that night
at the saloon in Midway were James F.
Lofts, Henry Weeks, George l.. Moran,
Chas. Whitford, Jewett Steele, Stuart
Myrtle and John Shelton on a Saturday
night spree. About II O clock the saloon
closed and the men left, getting half gal
lon of whiskey to carry with them. They
started down the road to go to their homes
still drinking, and one OF two so drunk
that they laid down by the road and went
to sleep, and slept through a pistol firing
and fight in which a man was killed, with
out knowing it was going on. The others
made noise enough to waken the families
! who lived on the road side.
About the same hour that this party
started down the road, the festival at the
colored church commenced closing and the
audience Of men and women began starting
home. Simms Brown, a colored farm hand,
was among the first to 60, and escorted two
colored women on their way to their homes,
A few yards beyond Mt. Carmel church
they met the noisy party of whom Lofts
and Weeks appeared to be the leaders. They
were assailed with bad language, and one
man put his arm around one of the women
/ tearing her dress as she ran from him.
| Both women ran off. Lofts tlen attacked
Simms Brown, their escort, kicking and
beating him. The negro said 'Please boss
let me alone. I've done nothing to YOU"
| TO which Lofts replied 'Oh, yes, G. d.
YOU" Lofts continued kicking him down
| the road and with a final kick said, ''NoW
COON down the road witllyourd- ID women"
| lie then returned to his companions with
| the remark, that II gave him Ill.," and
| his party kept on down the road past the
| point to turn off for their homes, Lofts
saying he would give some more of them
al.
Smms Brown in the meantime had run
| Dacll to the church festival and told some
OF the cOloTed men Of his treatment. Some
eight Or ten including Chas. johnson, Wal
lace Stuart, Henry Johnson and CharlesScott
volunteered to ''see him home" On the
,oad they soon net Lofts and Weeks and
the others. Brown who was leading the col
ored men asked, "Whe1e is the man that
| kicked me for nothing ?'' A fight ensued
in which pistols were used on both sides
and in Which Lofts was fatally shot, dying
in a few minutes, and Weeks was badly
beaten with stick. The body Of Lofts
was taken to his home, and Weeks was
taken to his home where he received medi-
cal aid.
The colored men named above, were az
rested by the authorities and have been in
Jail until this term Of the county court. On
tuesday the trial of the first of the five,
Charles Johnson, was commenced, Judge
| W.~P. Houston, presiding. The State was
represented by the Commonwealth s Attor-
ney, NJ. E. White, and Richard S.
Ker, and the prisoner by j. 81 J.
l.. Bumgardner. The following jury
tried the case-James NJ. Lickliter, Henry
NJ. Spencer, David NJ. Parsons, James
Booker Smith, John G. Hensley, Ferdi-
nand D. Lynn, 0. FL. Kennedy, John Fl.
| Council, Atwell G. Ellis, John M. Irvine,
! John H. Crickenberger and James w.
| Houseman.
The case was given to the jury yesterday
evening and a verdict Of ten years in the
| penitentiary was returned.
The counsel for the prisoner moved to
set it aside, and Judge Houston gave each
side half hour to argue it before him this
| morning.
Few verdicts have excited more general
| comment in Stanton