Evening star., 1897-06-01
A MEMORIAL DAY TRAGEDY
Charles Robinson Murdered by Dorsey Foultx,
Former Friend.
COnaicting Accounts Given OF the Al
fair-COr0ner's Inquest to He
Held This Afternoon.

| Dorsey Foultx. colored. who Is said to
| be less than twenty-five years old. has
| served more than a score of sentences in
| the workhouse and jail. and one in the
penitentiary. and row he Is wanted by
the police on a charge of murder. He
killed his former. friend, a colored man
| NAMED Charles Robinson, near Sd and .
streets northwest. yesterday afternoon by
shooting him through the breast
| The fatal affair occurred about $50
| O'Clock. but the police knew nothing OF it
| until about o'clock. SO that the alleged
| murderer had a good chance to escape.
| He was among his own friends. when he
did the killing. and none of them were in
| hurry to inform on him. Even after the
police had learned of the affair." and were
| making an investigation, they did not fully
| understand the exact circumstances under
/ which the deed was committed.
The reports of the affair made to the
! police differ considerably. although all the
| witnesses agree that there was can of
beer, with a woman in the case. The wo-
man was Emma White. resident of
Clicks alley, where so many disturbances
| occur. She has been known as Dorsey
FoultZ's particular friend for a long time.
and because of the notoriously bad repu-
\ tation he bore. the other young colored
| men made no effort to rob him Of her. They
| knew that he was a fighter, and that he
did not always resort to the use of natures
| weapons, for his term in the penitentiary
| was served for cutting another man. With
| these facts understood Dorsey usually had
full sway where he went, and no one at
tempted to infringe upon mis- rights. Know
ing this, the police are satisfied that the
killing was not because of jealousy.
The Victim.
Charles Robinson. the victim of yester-
days shooting, was about thirty years old.
and lived in Reeves court. He had never
been known to commit a serious offense
but the police say his reputation was not
very good.
Dorsey Foultz and Emma White were
arrested two months ago for a disorder
| in hall on o street, and were sent to
court, where they were fined, but Robinson
took no part in this affair. so that this
| case had no bearing en- the homicide. When
the matter of Yesterday had been fully
the only motive Foultz had was to avenge
the sending to prison of his friend, Gabriel
Walker. who had kept a speak easy"
opposition to the licensed saloons in the
neighborhood. and 1t is suspected that he
had some silent partners in the business.
But as in the case with many violators
of law, he became bold that he was
finally caught Robinson was a witness
against him. and when Gabriel was sent
to Jail Robinson was talked of as an in
former. His former friends were friends
no longer and Robinson had to look for
new companions. The feeling against him
is said to have been very bitter. and this
} 1t is thought, was the real cause OF the
homicide.
Rushing the GrOwIer.
, The shooting occurred near the entrance
to an alley which leads north from Z
street, In the rear of the Sd street houses
There Is also a vacant lot there, and il
is not an unusual sight to see colored men
stop at that point and rush the GROWER
| to a saloon in the neighborhood. This Is
what was done yesterday. and 1t was dur
, ing the time the beer was disappearing
that the shooting done. All of the
, | witnesses found by the police agree tnal
| there was nothing said between Foultz ano
his victim before the shooting. aithougf
| they do not agree on other points.
| One version of the affair Is that Foultz
| had sent to the saloon at 4th and z streets
ard got can of beer. and was there on
L the lot with Emma White when -RoDinSon
/. came along and was shot down According
to the statements Of this witness, Foultz
had drunk some of the beer from the car
and had handed 1t over to Emma, VINO was
| paItakirg of the liquid when her com
| panion drew his revolver and fired. An
other version given the officers Is thai
Foultz was seated in wagon, near tho
mouth of the alley, talking to another man
and the woman was standing on tn;
ground. Robinson, this report has 1t, was
Il. drinking beer from the can, and Foulti
| drew his weapon to fire. He hesitated, ant
ported to have said to him, Let him have
it, whereupon he fired the shot
1t is said that Foultz then put thu
weapon in his pocket, and walked away
going in the direction of Florida avenue
A colored man named Allen Corbett fol
lowed him as far as the dump, on Is
street, in the county. intending to arres,
him and turn him over to the police. bu
when Dorsey reached the dump he. reload
ed his weapon and Corbett was frightened
off.
Another Murder Threatened.
Corbett's part In the affair put him ir
disfavor with his colored friends. as mucf
as Robinsons participation in the liquor
case had affected his standing, and las
} night he came near being the victim of {
murder not far from the spot where thu
shooting had happened earlier in the day
| He was standing at the corner of 4th ant
| Q streets, when an unknown colored maj
| approached and took him to task for hav
| ing assisted the authorities. He then drew
| pistol and pointed it at him. but did no
| pull the trigger.
When Robinson received the fatal bullet
| and Foutz had escaped some colored spec
ltators put the wounded man in a wagoT
and drove him to Freedmen's Hospital. bul
| he died just about the time the hos2ita
i, / was reached and his body was sent to the
| norgue 1t was when the wagon reached
| the hospital that the police were notified
| of what had happened, and Precinct De
tective Barnes, with Policemen Shroufe
| fugitive. They succeeded in tracing him
| to the woods in the rear of Glenwood GENE
terry, but there they lost track Of him.
The Remains Viewed.
Coroner Hammett viewed the body a.
| the morgue and an autopsy was held thi:
morning. This afternoon at o'clock the
| taking of testimony will be commenced
and then the true story Of the affair may
be told.
i o. -0-
81 MEMORIAL DAY AT ROCKVILLE.
The Exercises Were Disturbed by tn,