El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-05-19
BARNEY RIGGS ACQUITTED.
Jury Out Only Four Minutes in One
Case and Not at All in the Other.

Barney Riggs, accused of numbering
( William Erhart and John DenstOa at
Pecos City last fall, was acquitted in
both cases last night, in the district
court.
| Witnes. es We're on the stand until
about p. M, when arguments began
Ex-senator Dean appeared for the
| state as district attorney, and the de.
! tense had Judge Edwards, of this CITY,
and Attorney Sheffner. of Pecos, and
4, Gatewood, Of Maria. There was an iu-
| Permission for supper, and the at
tOrneys finished a. o'clock. The jury
| then retired, but had hardly got up
stairs when they came down again with
verdict, the time of absence being
only four minutes. The verdict was
not guilty. This was in the Deuston
| case. The Erhart case was Immediate
| ly taken up without adjourniug court.
and the Indictment read, with the plea
of not guilty. Under the circum-
stances, the court instructed the Jury
! to bring in verdict of not guilty
and they did so without leaving their
seats.
The evidence was strongly in favor
of the defense: in fact the evidence
presented by the prosecution was very
slight The state attempted to show
through one Selmont, the young man
who made off with John Selman's pis-
tol, that hat produced in court for
the tir-t time, with two bullet holes
| through it was the one worn by Dens-
ton when shot. The hat had no blood
stains on it, and Belmont testified that
1t had fallen Off so quickly from the
conclusion that the blood had no time
to spot the hat. The district attorney
illustrated this interesting phenomen-
on by relating how he was once shot
through the arm accidentally by d
shot gun and there were no stains of
blood on his clothing. But it was sub
sequently explained on the quiet that
the ei5on why the ex-senator had been
been able to relate truthfully so mar
vicious an experience was because he
was swimming at the time of the ac-
clCeut and consequently his clothing
which was lying on the bank was not
stained. Inc district attorney jumped
onto DR.. Bush, one of the witnes es
for the defense with both feet, meta
phorlcally, alleging that he knew
nothing about gun shot wounds, al
though in a former trial where the
doctor had bean a witness for the side
that Dean was defending, referred to
the doctor in most glowing panegyric,
telling how he was one of the most not
ed and talented practitioners in the
state; The defense claimed, and the
jury believed that this bat business
was put up job, and that it had been
shot through afterwards when placed
on some hard substance.
Inc evidence went to show that
Erhart and Den5tOn had conspired to
murder Riggs. They had given it out
cold they had left town the previous
evening 50 as to throw Riggs off his
guard and very likely be the means of
his leaving off his gun. Moreover, it
was shown that Danston moved around
Riggs in the saloon so as to feel him
and ascertain whether he had gun
about him or not. Then Erhart hai
his witnesses there in Denston and
Belmont, and there was to have been
another witness, ClemonS who failed
to show up. When Denston notified
trhart with the remark that it was all
right, that is to say, Riggs was unarm-
ed, Erhart slowly pulled his gun, ex-
pertlpg that when Riggs saw it, he
would make some break that would
give nm, Erhart, an excuse for shoot
ing Riggs down. But Riggs was too
quick, and had out his hidden gun and
IN action ere the precious twain knew
What he was doing. Both desperadoes
were killed, and while it was shown
clear enough that Erhart was armed. i :
could not be proven that Dens'on was
armed at the time, as his friends i'm
mediately hauled his body away. But
the court, in instrucifng the jury, |
charged that if it was shown that the |
two men were acting in concert, it
could be assumed for all judicial pul.-
po e5 that the second man was armed |
The jury were fully satisfied that the !
dead men only got their just deserts
ard 1e.urned verdicts accordingly.
Remember Kirk 5 white Russian soap
IS the standard of the world: seven bars
Tor % cents at the Ell Paso Grocery