The herald., 1894-06-12
WILL TRY TO PROVE AN ALIBL
The Defense of the Roscoe Sus-
poets Well Under Way.
witnesses Give the Defendants
Horses Bad Reputation.
John Belt, the Coiored Man, Emsrges
with Tattered Reputation for
veraoity-The Testimony
Yesterday.

The defense in the trial OF the Roscoe
suspects was reached yesterday, aid it
developed that the principal reliance Of
the defendants is an abb, which they
very industriously set about proving in
che afternoon.
The abb is OF the most positive char
acter, and if the jury believe the vari-
GUS witnesses who have testified that
Comstock, Thorne and Fitzsimmons
were at home the night OF February 10Th,
that will be the end OF the case.
The attendance has fallen off since the
prosecution closed Saturday afternoon,
and yesterday there were hardly enough
spectators to fill all the seats. The army
OF witnesses for the defense filled. the
corridors Of the court house and passed
anything but an agreeable day pacin &
around over the tile paving.
When court convened at 8 O'Clock the
prosecution placed one more witness on
the stand, Mrs. d. J. Moore, the house,
keeper for Henry Kegel. She testified
that the night of the train robbery at
Roscoe she heard the shots fred at the
hold up, and also heard q wagon pass
about O'Clock going up the canon in th Q
direction of the homes of the defend
ants,
The first witness for the defense was
A. L. Hutchins, of Pacoma, who swoIe
that the reputation of John Belt, the
colored man who said he saw Mexican
dollars in the possession of Comstock.
for truth and veracity, WAS bad.
He was followed by Robert 8. Reece,
retired minister, who testified to the
came effect.
f. V. Beecher, deputy constable, tes-
tilted that he and Mr.. Appel met
Brighton at a saloon in the city, and the
latter, in speaking about someone who
had questioned his reputation, used the
expression that Brighton attributed to
the defendants, about shooting the CUTS
out" OF people. The witness also testi-
fed that the reputation OF the colored
man Belt was bad.
On croes-exam nation by Mr.. Conk-
ling the witness was asked if he did not,
while up in the San Fernando valley
summoning witnesses, offer to bet that
the defendants would be acquitted.
Eyes, sir, did," be replied, land
am willing to bet that way yet."
The reply caused considerable amuse-
some OF the jurors laughed heartily.
On redirect examination Mr.. Beecher
stated that he examined the shoes and
feet OF the horses OF the defendants and
did not find any of them that looked lik Q
the tracks shown him as the tracks Of
the train robbers horses; neither did
he find any wagon owned by the de-
PENDANTS that did not track.
r. P. Waite, fruit grower and nur-
seryman OF San Fernando testified that
he is acquainted with Henry kegel, and
his reputation ior truth and veraclty is
bad.
Upon being asked if the community
had not taken sides between Ksgel and
man named Hall, who had had trou BILE
for several years, and if 1T wasn't that
that caused the talk about Kegel, the
witness caused laugh by saying
that hie idea OF Kegeos reputation did
not come from such a thing. He did
not think the community took much
stock in either of the men,
Barney Camille, living at West Glen
dale, testified as to the horses belonging
to Comstock, and said they weighed 400
or 500 pounds apiece. The horses were
poor.
Detective Will Smith of the Southern
Pacific company testified that he had
made an investigation of the train rob
berry. He had casts procured of the
alleged tracks around the train and had
shells picked up at the scene of the rob-
berry. The witness said he had a con-
versstion with Mr.. Rapp in which the
latter told him he had nothing upon
which to base a suspicion of Walter
Thorne being implicated in the robbery,
or either OF the defendanta--only gem
eral suspicion.
On cross examination Mr.. Smith said
he had travelled about some and run out
number OF clues. His examination