The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-13
PITTS ON TRIAL FOR HIS LIFE.
THE STATE INTRODUCES SOME
NEW TESTIMONY.


Before the COrOner's Jury-The De-
Tense Claims the Indictment Is De-
fective in That Ii Says the killing
Was on Dec. 2 Instead of Dec.3-S
Point May He Made on This-The
Young German witness Heard
Only One Shot Instead of FiVe-The
Trial to he Continued To-day.
1t appears that mistake has been made
in the Indictment under which Alonzo J..
Pitts was put on trial for his life yester-
day, and 1t is matter which may or may
not cut some figure IN the case.
The indictment found by the grand jury
in December was defective in a minor par
ticular, the word wound" having been
left out after the word mortal This
first indictment. however, was dated Dec.
2. At 915 o'clock yesterday morning three
quarters of an hour before the superior
court convened, the old indictment was
nolle pressed on account of this defect, and
at $50 o'clock new true bill against Pitts
for the murder of Adam A. Thornburg was
found. This last Indictment also alleged
that the crime was committed on Dec. 2.
AS matter of fact, however, Pitts did
not commit any crime on Dec. 2, but it was
on Thursday, Dec. 3, that he shot Thorn
burg. The question has arisen as TO
whether this will make any difference in
the trial of the case. The attorneys for
the defense Messrs. T. S. Morgan, Jr.,
and F. NJ. Oliver are, of course, going to
make all they can out of the error II 1t
is one, in fact, and they had consulta-
ton last night for the purpose of deter
mining what might be done in the matter.
The trial began at 10 o'clock under the
indictment found half an hour before that
time. The state struck seven jurors
out of the four panels presented and
the prisoner seventeen, neither side ex
hausting the allotted number of strikes,
and three went off for cause. The jury
was finally sworn as follows; Edward J..
Postell, John NJ. Quantock, Montford >.
Lebey, William II. Bennett Arthur c.
Craig, Edward c. Hughes, Clifford c. Hill,
Robert NJ. Mongin, Jr., Hayward Ravenel,
John T. Moriarty, William f. Morgan
and Arthur M Honour.
Pitts sat next to his attorneys and near
him We're his wife and child and other rel
atives and friends. The court room was
crowded to suffocation Almost, from 10
O'Clock until a recess was taken shortly
after o'clock. Negroes filled the gallery
and there was a mixed crowd of white and
colored down stairs outside of the railing,
packed in like sardnes, listening with
morbid eagerness to every detail of the
narrative OF crime that came from the
witness stand. just so were they also
packed within the railing, and as close
around the clerks desk as they could con-
gregate. 1t was a crowd that for the
most part kept the sheriff and his depu
ties continually on the watch to keep or
der in court.
Witness after witness was sworn by
sDt
plain that Solicitor General Osborne was
endeavoring to make out a clear case of
murder. The interrogatories of Attorney
Morgan on the other hand pointed clearly
to the fact that he is going to bring in the
element of self-defense in behalf of his
client But he has not yet had an OPP
portunity to put up any of his witnesses.
Mr.. Morgan, however, is plainly devoting
his energies to shattering the states EVIL
dence at every possible point.
The state discovered two new witnesses
recently, Minnie Bellnger and Ophclia
Stewart, two negro girls, who were in the
bar at the time Pitts and COllini entered
1T. According to their testimony, they
were standing at one end Of the bar
counter, when the two men came in and
ordered beer Pitts asked them to drink
with him. They refused a first, but final
ly consented, and as the drinks were or
dered they said Pitts pulled out his pis-
tOl ana ldlO II on the counter. InOrnDuf2
then poured out the two beers he had
drawn and refused to serve them. An
other party came in, and was served with
a beer Pitts then told Thornburg, they
said, that # he did not serve the drinks
he ordered, he would see to it that
Thornburg never served another drink
across the bar, telling him at the same
time he would shoot him. and afterward
that he would have him sent to the chain
gang for selling liquor on Sunday. He
then told Collini 10 go behind the bar and
serve the drinks for them, just as Thorn
burg had served the new customer. Col
lini started behind the bar. He had pre-
viously made some claim that he had left
his oYercoat there. Thornburg resisted
Collinis coming behind the bar, and as
he was doing SO, these witnesses stated,
Pitts advanced and fired five shots, as
they thought, AT the floor, but they after-
ward proved to be the shots which killed
Thornburg. They were standing in the
door Of the place at the time, and though
they saw Pitts shoot. they did not see
Thornburg and Collini at the time the
shooting was going on. After the shots
were fired they Immediately left the place.
This was perhaps the most important
testimony which came out in the case. The
young German sailor Fred Behr, who saw
the shooting was put up, and as he could
not speak word of English an interpre-
ter had to be called in. Mr.. Morgan OBJ
Jected to this, stating in the first place
that it was not know but that Behr could
speak English.
Get the interpreter to ask him." said
Judge Falligant.
ASK the witness If he can speak Eng
lish," Mr. Morgan said to the interpreter
The interpreter did so and the reply sound
ed very much like plain No"
THAT appears TO me to be very good
English Mr.. Morgan commented.
The court overrued Mr.. Morgan's OBJ
lection to the use of an interpreter, and
Behr's testimony was given 1t accorded
with the general story of the killing in
many particulars but Behr stated posi-
lively that he heard only one shot. whereas
the other witnesses said the five shots were
fired In rapid succession.
Behr is the young German sailor who
has been detained in Jail as the princi-
pal witness in the case. After his testi-
mony was given he was returned to the
Jail. and he will be kept there until the
final determination of the trial.
Mr. Morgan endeavored, in so far as he
could with the states witnesses, to
bring out the fact that Thornburg kept
a pistol behind his bar, and that he not
only threatened, but attempted to use
Il on this occasion. Very LITTLE olaor owl