Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-10-02
SENSATION
Sprung In COURTROOM
at Durrant Trial.
UNEXPECTED 10th TO DEFENSE
AND PROSECUTION.
JUROR THREATENED.
APPROACHED ny THE SECRETARY
OF THE Y. NJ. g. A. WITH
DIRE THREATS.
Attorney. for tho Defense EnRrEea
in Trying to strengthen the
Abb of Their Client.
JUROR THREATENED.

San Francisco. Oct. 1.-After gather
ing up few ragged ends of the testi-
mony left over from last week. the
defense in the Durrnnt case this MORN
ing began the building OF an abb for
the young medical student from April
up to April II, inclusive. The pur-
pose OF the alibi TO impeach the testi-
mony Of Pawnbroker Oppenheim and
j. w. Phillips, who testified that on
April IL Durrant tried to pawn Blanche
Lamonts ring at Oppenheim's store.
During the course of the testimony,
which covered Durrant's movements on
April and 6. struggle was pre-
clpitated by District Attorney Barnes.
who again challenged the reliability of
a roll call book at Cooper college. The
argument resulted in a victory for
the defense. so far as the question be-
fore the court was concerned. as Judge
Murphy sustained an objection to
question propounded to the witness and
cut off the dlcussion. The trial began
this morning with u sensation which
was quite as unexpected TO the prose-
cution as to the defense.
that last Thursday during the noon
recess he was approached by II. j.
Mccoy, general secretary of the Y. NJ.
c.. A., who endeavored to engage nm
in conversation on the subject of the
trial.
"If YOU don't hang Durrant," said
Mccoy to him. 1--WE will hang you"
The court said the offense bordered
strongly on a crime. and cited Me-
H.. nat nd
show cause why he should not be pun
ished for contempt.
The defense called to the stand four
witnesses by whom II was proposed 10
test the accuracy of Pawnbroker OPP
penheim's memory.
Marvin Curtis, William Calvert p. J.
Numann and Leonard Everett, MEM
bers of the National Guard. and the
CORDS to which Durrant belonged testi-
fed that they had taken various arti-
cles of jewellery TO oppenheim's store
and attempted to pawn them. They
described the manner in which they
We're dressed at the time. The descrip-
tio1s in many cases did not correspond
with the description given by Open
helm when he was asked TO tell now
the men who tried to pawn the articles
were dressed. Each of the four Wit
nesses said he had subscribed money to
assist in the defense of Durrant.
The building of Durrnnts allbi IN
contradiction of the charge made by
Pawnbroker Oppenheim was begun
with the testimony of DR.. A. W.
Halhalt, a lecturer at Cooper College.
Asked IL Durant was present at the
lecture given on the morning of April
4, the doctor referred to the call book
and said that the defendant was pres
ent.
on cross-examination he said he had
no personal knowledge of Durrants
presence or absence.
The defense tried to offset this by
asking II he could give the name of any
student who attended on the morning
in question. The doctor readily re-
called q dozen names.
The prosecution attacked the relia-
billty of the roll call.
with Durrants whereabouts on the
morning of April accounted for the
defense attempted to show where the
defendant was the next day. George
A. Merrill. an instructor at the Lick
School of Mechanical Arts, saying that
Durrant called upon him at Ii o'clock
In the forenoon of April and when
asked II Durrant made known the OBJ
ject of his call replied In the affirmative
but was not permitted to tell what
Durrant said.