The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-09
MGINNBSS AND REYNOLDS.
We're Sentenced to Folsom Prison Yes
teFday.
The Former Goes There for Three
Years, and the Latter Goes
for Five.

Patrick McGinniss and James Rey-
nolds appeared before Judge Hart yes
| terday for sentence and the former was
sentenced to Folsom for three years
and the latter for five.
The crime for which the men were
tried was the stealing of ST. 100, the life
savings Of an old hunter named
Charles Denicke. Denicke's scow, on
which he lived, was being repaired and
thinking his money would not be safe
he removed it from the scoW and buried
it in a clump of willows, where Nc
Ginnis found it and proceeded to make
Rome howl with it. Reynolds found out
that the money had been found by
McGinnis and obtained part of it
from time to time, amounting, it is
thought, to about 1886. He was tried
for receiving the money, knowing it to
be stolen. Between them they spent
all but about S144, which was returned
to old Denicke.
When they were arraigned, McGinnis
pleaded guilty. but Reynolds, not
knowing how much evidence the OFF,
GERS had accumulated against him,
pleaded not guilty, hoping to escape.
Sheriff Johnson and District Attorney
Ryan have worked hard on the case and
have earned fresh laurels by bringing
it to a successful termination. Deputy
Sheriff Max Fisher gathered a mass of
evidence also against the men.
Reynolds evidently began to believe
that Sheriff Johnson had discovered
other crimes and traced them to his
door, and realizing that he might be
| indicted on three or four other charges
of receiving stolen goods, deemed it to
his advantage to enter a plea of guilty
to escape conviction on other charges.
When McGinnis was asked by the
court if he had anything to say why
sentence should not be pronounced up
| on him, his attorney, Henry Z. Buckley,
arose and made an earnest and elo-
quent appeal for mercy for him.
District Attorney Ryan told the court
that inasmuch as McGinnis had saved
the county the expense of a trial. was
60 years old and had acknowledged his
connection with this crime and to a
certain degree aided the prosecuting
officers, he believed that justice would
be fully satisfied if the court in it's wis.,
dom would not impose the extreme pen
atty, but deal leniently with the de-
fendant
Judge Hart then requested Deputy
Sheriff Max Fisher to state what he
knew in regard to the past record OF
McGinnis
Mr.. Fisher stated that having been
requested by Mr. Ryan and Sheriff
Johnson he had carefully traced the
past life OF McGinnis even to his school
days in Buffalo, N Y. up to the day of
only make the report that the worst
that might be said against McGinnis
up to the time this offense was COM
mitted was that. like many others. he
would frequently get drunk and had
several times been arrested for it. but
had never been accused Of or arrested
for theft before.
At this announcement several old Of
tenders amongst the audience We're
heard to praise the impartiality-or
fairness-with which this young officer
stated McGinnis' record, just as he had
learned 1t.
Judge Hart then reviewed the cir
Gums tances of the case, touching upon
the great temptation which had acct
dentally thrown itself into McGinnis'
way and referred 20 the age Of the man
who now stood in the shadow of the
prison walls, and sentenced him to
Folsom Prison for a term of three
years.
NOT so LUCKY.
Reynolds was next in line and when
asked what he had to say in his be-
half attempted in very lame manner
to convince the court that while he
SurmiSed that McGinnis might have
taken Denicke's money, yet he did not
not know it as q fact. But in the next
breath he convicted himself out of his
own mouth by acknowledging that Nc
Ginnis had told him all about it, had
shown him the money as we'll as the
| spot where he had found 1t and that
McGinnis had been hunting for 1t.
The court told Reynolds that he could
| see no extenuating circumstances in his
case, inasmuch as he was fully aware