The herald., 1893-07-18
GIBBS TO HAVE A NEW TRIAL,
The Supreme Court Gives Him
Another Chance.
The Ex-Councilman States His Side
of the Case.
He Has Been In tho County jail for q
Year Hoping for q Favorable
Opinion In an APP
peal.

Edward A. Gibbs, former councilman
OF this city, and sentenced to seven
years Imprisonment in February, 1899,
for obtaing property ander false pre-
tences, has been awarded new trial by
the supreme court, i~
Gibbs offense consisted in his giving
TO one J. Fl. Anderson an alleged fraudu-
lent note and mortgage in payment of
the purchase price for livery stable.
fairgrounds on which a new trial has
been granted are stated to be INSULT
cheney OF proof, and an error in instruc-
tions to the jury. .ss9'.4ss s51
Gibbs, who has been in the county
Jail for over year awaiting hesupreme
court decision was seen by HERALD re-
porter yesterday.
He was considerably elated at the
news and in the course Of conversation
said:
II purchased quite an interest in a
large tract of land, situated on the Los
Coyotes rancho, in 1887, the time of the
boom. In 1889 sold portion of my
interest to Donald MacKay and took as
part payment a mortgage on the land
sold him. The title, at the time, of the
entirs rancho was in dispute and litigs-
tion.
In 1891 traded this mortgage for the
benefit Of my brother to j. FL. Anderson
for livery stable and stock. At the
time of the trade written contract was
entered into between myself and Alder
son, which fully set tn and explained
the nature and conditions of the title
to the property which the mortgage
covered, and he expressed himself per-
fectly satisfied and accepted it as the
purchase money for his stable.
In November, 1891, about eight
months sfter the trade was made for the
stable, the supreme court, wherein the
litigation was pending, involving the
title to the land, entered judgment
against the title because Of faulty
complaint,
Shortly after this judgment was rem.
dered, and before the mortgage became
due, without presentation or demand for
payment of the mortgage, Anderson,
with number other persons whom he
secured a5 witnesses, appeared before
the grand jury, then in session. and OBJ
tanned an indictment against me for OBJ
tanning property under false pretenses,
claiming that no such man as Mckay
existed and that the mortgage and notes
had been manufactured.
Mckay himself appeared in court and
testified, together With many prominent
and reputable citizens who had known
him upon the coast for the last 25 years,
having been the architect of many pub
tic buildings.
The evidence disclosed that the prop
erty had coet $4,000 and the title had
been maintained through all the courts
for period of five years until the final
adverse decision. Upon hearing of the
case, the court refused to give instruc-
tions to the jury in my behalf "a to the
amount of proof REQUIRED by law in such
cases, and in the instructions which
were given, Judge Smith erroneously
stated the nature of the proof re-
qudred."
Singularly enough Gibbs was tried
upon O second indictment OF a similar
nature, In which the complaining wit
ness was Herman Zuber, to whom he
sold one OF the 1888 33 notes for $1,000.
In this trial he was acquitted.