Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-05-14
THE CELEBRATED CASE.
Mr.. CatrOn Outlines the Defense in
Chavez Murder Trial-Wlll
Undertake to Prove
AlibiS.
Efforts to Discredit Testimony of Juan
Gallegos and Francisco Rivera
Embarrassing Predicament of
Nicolas Gutierrez.

Nicolas Gutierrez.
The trial Of the celebrated case, en-
titled the Territory vs.. Francisco Con
zales y Borrego, Antonio Gonzales y |
Borrego, I,aureano Alarid and Patricio
Valencia, charged with the murder of
Francisco Chavez in Santa Fe about
three years ago, still occupies the exclu-
sion attention of the territorial district
court, Judge Hamilton presiding, in this
city.
AS already announced in these columns
the prosecution rested at noon yesterday.
At 80 in the afternoon Mr.. Catron
made the opening address for the de-
PENDANTS, wherein he plainly indicated
would have been impossible for the de-
PENDANTS to have committed the crime
charged against them: in other words,
that another attempt would be made to
prove al alibi or alibis.
JUAN GALLEGos RECALLED.
At the afternoon session of the court
Yesterday, Mr.. Catron in accordance with
previous notice, recalled Juan Gallegos
for the purpose of laying foundation to
impeach him. With this end in view he
again brought to the witness attention
the letter, which was heretofore intro
duced in evidence and admitted to have
been written by Antonio Maria Vigil, in
Conejos, Colorado, at the request of Juan
Gallegos with certain qualifications.
Gallegos claimed on the stand that it had
not been signed by him nor with his au-
thorization and that his instructions had
been exceeded. He claimed that many of
the statements in the letter we're drawn
from the inner consciousness of the
writer. To discredit the witness Mr..
Catron asked him if he had not been con-
victed in Trinidad for larceny. The wit
ness acknowledge that he had, but, on
cross examination by Mr.. Crist very
plausibly explained how he had become
involved by saying that he had bought
the pistol from Guadalupe Cortez, now Of
Las Vegas, but then of Trinidad, and had
pawned it the following day. Cortez left
Trinidad short time subseq uently and
Juan was arrested upon the charge men
toned. Being friendless and alone, Cor
tez having gone, he was without defense
and suffered unjustly. At somewhat
later period Cortez returned and upon
the com plant of the witness was arrested
and lodged in Jail upon the charge of
having sold pistol which he had stolen.
The witness asked that he might be
given an opportunity to prove this state
ments by Guadalupe himself,
MORE ABOUT THAT LETTER.
Mr.. Antonio Maria Vigil was then
called to the stand and testified that
he had known Juan Gallegos during the
month of June, 1892, in Conejos; that
Gallegos asked him to write and sign
the letter in evidence, saying to
him that he did 30 because he was very
much afraid they would do him some
harm and another reason being that he
had given list of the names of those
who had agreed to kill Francisco Chavez
and that he was one of them. That he
was afraid that they would kill him for
giving them away.
Mr.. Crist gave notice that he would re-
serve the witness for further cross-exam-
ination on the strength of certain in
formation alb out him of which he had just
come into possession.
Court soon after adjourned until this
morning.
VIGIL ON THE STAND.
Promptly at the incoming of court this
morning, Antonio Ma. Vigil again took
the stand and testified that Juan Gallegos
bore bad reputation for truth and We
raclty in Conejos county,, Colo, and that
he would not believe him under oath. On
cross examination he admitted that he
had befriended Gallegos and associated
with him and failed to specify any tangi-
BILE reason why he discredited the testi-
mony of Gallegos.
The letter was then introduced as evil
dence.
Nicholas Gutierres, who accompa MED
Francisco Rivera to Krick's bottling
house on the memorable night that Frank
Chavez was killed, was next called and
sworn.
The district attorney said that Cutter
res ought to have been sworn and placed
under the rule with the other witnesses
and insisted that if the defense had any
more unsworn Witnesses they should be
at once presented and placed under the
rule. The court 80 directed.
STORY OF GUTIERREZ.
Gutierrez then testified that he knew
Francisco Rivera and remembered the
night on which Francisco Chavez was
killed; about $3.50 that night he went
with Rivera from Conway's saloon to
Kricks bottling house for key of beer;
they went and came by the Guadalupe
bridge; made the round trip in about
fifteen minutes. His direct testimony
was essentially the same as that of Rivera
exec pit that he denied that they stopped
on the south end of the bridge, that he
heard any noises while crossing the
bridge or saw any persons at or near the
south end of the bridge. He said that
they stopped on the northern half Of the
bridge and that Rivera took the key, and
that soon after he took the key again. in
timating that Rivera was too drunk to
carry it further. After delivering the beer
he and Rivera had supper at Conway's
and then vent into the saloon. Soon
after word came that Chavez had been
killed and they all went to the bridge,
where his dead body was lying. He also
positively denied that Rivera went out of
the saloon after supper until news came
that Chavez had been killed. In this re-
spect HIS story differed from that of Ri
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