The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-25
The Noted Bunco steerer Once
More Free.
ARRESTED FIFTY TIMES
ACQUITTED YESTERDAY ON THE
CHARGE OF yAGRANCY.
The Police and City Attorney Mckay
Make a Hard Fight and Are De-
fented-Chnpman Proved That He
Had Worked-PoIice Court Mention

Charles Chapman, the confidence
man who, according to the sworn
statement of Detective Sheets, has been
arrested SO times within three years
on one charge or another, once more
| slipped through the hands of the law
yesterday. When he appeared in police
court to answer to the charge of va
| grancy preferred against him the day
before, he demanded jury which,
when the case had been tried and the
officers felt they at least had the fell
low convicted, brought in verdict OF
! acquittal.
| Chapman has been a source of great
annoyance to the police during the
three years and over that he has lived
| here. Seldom a week goes by, and
| never two, but someone appears al
| police headquarters and complains OF
| having been buncoed by him in some
| one of his lnany games, but he has
been too shrewd for the police to ac-
! tually catch him at any of his work,
| and as the complaining witness has
almost invariably disappeared before
the case came to trial, or pending an
appeal, for he has always appealed
| from the police court when convicted
there, it has been impossible to push
a case through to final conviction
| against him.
Chapman became defendant in the
case yesterday by reason of one j. r.
Boaz complaining to the police some
days ago that he had been unfairly
done" out of $50 in a game of poker.
On being given a description of the
other participants in the game, the
police arrested Chapman. AS he had
been up within a few weeks previous
mn Inn
trick, it was decided to try and make
a case stick, and City Attorney Nc
Kay accordingly had the charge of
gambling withdrawn and substituted
one of vagrancy. The case came up
yesterday afternoon for trial before
Judge Wenger when Chapman adopted
his customary tactics of demanding a
jury and proving he had performed
enough legitimate work within the
time specified in the complaint to evade
the vagrancy ordinance. Judge Nc
Kay appeared for the city, assisted by
Prosecutor Shoup and D. N. Straup for
the defendant.
Some time was consumed in getting
jury, which was finally secured in
! the persons of G. Robinson, Edward
Pickering, ]. C. Ensign and ]. w.
Ever.
VICTIM TESTIFIES.
iic III 81 WilHSSS Cdlleu was y. X.
Boaz, who came here recently from
Atlanta, Ga, and who was the victim
in the poker game. He testified that
he had casually met a young man on
the street who seemed a pleasant ac-
! quaintance, ais. who had invited him
to his room where he introduced Boaz
to the defendant. In the course of
conversation one of them had acct
dentally disarranged newspaper
which covered some piles of poker
chips on a table, which act proved
subsequently, to have been a part of
the scheme. An apology to Chapman
ELECTED the response that it did not
matter; that some friends had been
having quiet game. Then game of
stud was proposed, and all set in The
game ran pleasantly on till Chapman
got chance at the cards. Witness
got a good hand and when Chapman
bet $50 he called him and of course
lost. Witness was satisfied Chapman
had put up the hand
CHIEF PRATT A WITNESS.
Chief of Police Pratt was the next