The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-21
Weeds ROBBERS GUILTY
They Both Get Five Years
in State Prison.
STRONG CASEAGAINST THEM.
A Twenty Dollar Bill With a Blot
Could Not Be Explained
Away.
TR0NG CASEAGAINST THEM.

The trial of Luther aud Lillian Terry
of No. 164 Grand street, both colored, in-
dicted for b urglarizing the house of Jus
tice Winfield S. Weed. at No. 238 Grove
street, on the night of January 26 began
in rbe Court of Sessions this morning
before Judge Hudspeth and jury. The
State was represented by Prosecutor
Winfield and the defendants by Coun-
sellor Simpson.
Justice Weed testified that on the night
in question pocketbook containing S407
in bill. a note for $50, a note for
Sl00 for 1888, and another note
for S2680, pension paper calling for
S2S and jewelry and silverware, making
total values of about 81, 400, were taken
from his house.
He stated that it was three O'Clock that
night when he went home, and that he
hung his vest on the head of the bedstead.
In MS vest was red pocketbook con-
tanning the money and notes before
mentioned. Lillian Terry, the colored
servant, only remained at Justice Weeds
house during the day time and went home
nights. She would go to the house
about five O'Clock in the morning. and
Mrs. Weed would admit her. Mrs. Weed
would retire again and the servant would
prepare brea kfast 1t was her Gus
tom to each morning take 30 Mrs.
Weed a cup of coffee before
Weed te.sd |sa tnrSsI Tssdy tOSt SuStcS
the morning in question, his wife les
the servant in. and that when the ustica
woke up, he found the coffee in his room,
but his pocketDook was gone. A hurried
search showed that the house had been
robbed and that window had been
broken, but had not appareNtly been
opened.
A BILL WITH BLOT ON IT.
Justice Weed added in his testimony
that the day before the robbery he had re-
ceived a $50 bill from James H. Costigan.
which had an ink blot on it. He had
blot on the bill with the remark that he
could identify that bill anywhere.
Prosecutor Winfield handed Justice
Weed a number of bills and the witness
Immediately identified the $50 bill with
the ink blot on it. The witness added
That stranger could not have entered
the room occupied by him and his wife,
because skye terrier dog always slept
in the room.
james H. Costigan corroborated Justice
Weeds story about the blot on the BILL
He said Justice Weed had changed the
bill for him and had mentioned the blot.
He identified the bill
that the day after the robbery, Luther
Terry asked him to change $50 bill.
Detective Dalton testified that he
searche the house of the Terrys and
| found a red pocketbook containing $50 in
the trunk that belonged to Mrs. Terry.
| One of the bills in the pocketbook was
the $40 bill with the ink blot on it. After
other corroborative evidence and the
| Identification of some wine glasses, silver
napkin rings and laces that were found
in the home OF the Terrys, the State
| rested.
WEAK DEFENSE.
| Counsellor Simpson called Lillian
Terry. She swore that Mrs. Weed admit
ted her to the house at the usual time on
| the morning of January 26 When she
went down stairs she found the bascs
| mens door open and also noticed that q
| window had been broken. She took the
coffee to Mrs. Weed and began to set
the table for breakfast when she noticed
| that the silver was gone. She asked
! Miss BuddeD. a sister of Mrs. Weed, what
| had become of it. and Miss Budden asked
Mrs. Weed. 1t was then that Mrs.
| Weeds jewel case was missed. In exc
planning how she happened to have in
| her possession the money that Detective
Dalton found. Mrs. Terry said
that it was money she and
her husband had saved; that S22 of it had
been drawn from a bank in Ansoniap
| Conn.,, and that her brother had sent her
| s25 before Christmas. She did not
know how to explain how she
got the $50 bill with the ink
| blot on it. The silver, lace, glasses and
other articles found in her house and
| identified as being the property of JUS
| tice Weed, she said she bought of an old
| colored woman. The old woman had the
articles tied up in bundle. and she gave
I the old woman seventy-hve cents for
| them.
Her husband made an even worse de-
| fense than Mrs. Terry when be was put
| on the stand, and he was unable to say
where his wife got the $38.25 which she
gave him 20 deposit in the savings bank.
Counsellor Simpson made an earnest
| appeal to the jury for his clients, and Mr.
| Winfield denounced them in his custom
ary torcibls style.
The jury found both defendants guilty
| and Judge Hudspeth sentenced them to
| five years each at State Prison.