Bridgeton pioneer., 1897-05-27
CUMBERLAND COURT.
Criminal Cases Occupy the Atten-
tion Of Court.
SALLIE MUNYON WAS I'LL.
Too Sick to Appear, Says Her Physician
The Trial Postponed Until Friday.
Wednesday Afternoon.

The audience at Court is dwindling
away to mere handful, and these folks
seem to want to take quiet walk out in
the fresh air. For many terms there has
not been so little before the Court of an
important nature as Prosecutor Logue has
this time presented to him by the Grand
Jury.
The first few cases were simply non
sense when finally presented before the
jury, and prompt acquittals followed.
This afternoon the first jury in from
the rooms below acquitted Lorain Davis
upon the charge of stealinga wagon from
a man named Hutchinson.
Both juries who heard the cases against
Charles Richman convicted him OF lewd-
ness and he is confronted by generous
term in the State Prison.
Then Prosecutor Logue ordered in
from the Jail three men all charged with
breaking and entering and stealing from
the Mauricetown Station upon the
Maurice River branch of the W. J. &S. s.
r. r.
The defendants were Noah Hand, his
son John and John Fullerton. The two
Hands are the father and brother of
Laura Silvers, who has become so notori-
Shaw, are the principal witnesses of the
State.
When the defendants came in from Jail
they were seated near their counsel James
S. Ware. A whispered consultation re-
suited, and Mr.. Ware announced that the
son John Hand had expressed desire
to retract his plea of guilty. This left
only the old man Noah Hand and Fuller
ton to be tried.
There was absolutely no doubt when
Prosecutor Logue completed his case that
the station had been robbed, and a lot of
sugar, coffee, rice and other groceries
were carried off, the whole lot of stuff
being valued at about S25.
The rain falling that night made the
ground soft, and it was easily possible
for the station hands to track the i'm
prints OF those engaged in the robbery.
These tracks led directly from the sta
ton to little house in Halberton, occu
pled by the Hands and Fullerton. Word
was sent to the Millvile officers. and
they promptly put in an appearance, and
making search of the small house dis.
covered lot of the stolen stuff, which
was identified.
Inc tracks about the station and about
the Hand house showed that three per-
sons had been engaged in the robbery.
Fullerton and Noah Hand told their
story IN response to questions from Mr..
ware. They denied all knowledge of the
robbery. Down in Halberton they were
living together, spending the day in cut
tlng wood from the timber land there
aoouts. They did not deny that John
Hand had committed this robbery. They
could not do that for John had already
pleaded guilty. But they did declare
that they had no hand in the robbery. i'm
TACT did not know of it, and did not know
the goods taken from the station had
oeeh concealed about the premises. Not
knowing anything about the affair they
ala not think they should be implicated,
and made every effort to impress the Jury
with this fact.
John Hand, the gully party was then
called to the stand, and he put an edge of
interest upon the case, by declaring that
ne and John Fullerton did the lob
Evidently John was going to stick to the
Ola man and while he was willing to
suHer the consequences, misery loved
company, and he wanted Fullerton to be
MS jail companion. 1t was wonderful
exhibition of fillial devotion. John
further declared that the robbery was the
outcome of a plan made by Fullerton.
Inc latter assisted in the robbery, and
poth Fullerton and John hid the goods in
the barn so that Johns father would not
know oflt, for the old man would give
the whole snap away, ,and both John Hand
ana Fullerton would be apprehended.
The defense rested, and in rebuttal
1onh Fullerton went on the stand and
sald That John Hand was lying out of the
solld' lie still stuck to the story that he
mad nothing to do with the robbery. He
SAID ne was sixty eight years of age and
couio not have carried the heavy bundles
John said he did.
Inc next case to the attention of Jury
brought was the State against Lawrence,
charged with stealing Sll from Samuel
Brown. This case is fresh from the
court OF Mayor Appellate, and the facts
are that Lawrence and Brown were out
Win party drinking. Brown missed
some money from his pockets, and he be-
lleVeo Lawrence to have stolen it. He
nad the opportunity anyhow. Lawrence
spent about this amount around town
ust after the alleged stealing, and could
give no satisfactory explanation of where
ne got 1t. The case went to the Jury at