Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-07-06


no the Editor Of the Optic.
CLAYTON, N. M, July God. 1897
The case OF j. e. Curren against thu
board OF county commissioners 0
Uaion county. was continued by agree
ment until next term.
Gases, 25, 29 and 81, against Gale
tano Martinez and Gabriel Sanchez
for the murder Of Isabel Duran, in Uts
Creek, were dismissed BY ths
district attorney, on the grount
that he had not sufficient evi.
dence against the accused TO warran|
his going to trial. The conrt remark.
ed that he would not interfere with tn,
discretion Of the district attorney
Judge O. T. Toombs said the defend,
ant had been in jail for slxteen months.
The court replied tartly: II expect
they look better than when they wen
in!n
Addressing the prisoners the cour,
said:
1.-The district attorney expresses nc
opinion as to the real merits OF the case,
but in the absence Of saficiens testimony
TO establish your guilt, he deems ft due "a
the Territory, as It's representative and 70
you, 80 an Impartial prosecutor, and 10
subject you to q trial or the county to the
expense OF one, YOU will therefore be dis-
charged, with regret ON the part Of ths
court that the situation has been such ~ to
necessitate -FOUR continued Imprisonment
Tor so many months, but the court takes
the privilege of expressing the hope that
ment, realized the danger Of associations
or actions, even apparently suspicious, and
that you have resolved you will hence.
forth so deport yourselves that you will be
beyond suspicion In any contingency.
You are aware Of the status that exists
arss, Of the ease with which crime can be
perpetrated and the traces Of tus comUis-
sion effaced. You are aware, too, that
such parties frequently are sufficiently
clever Ia covering their tracks to excite sus-
picion against others. And whilst the court
does not pretend to say that you are the
victims of any such action, yet it does not
hesitate to express the opinion that the
circumstances were such as to justify your
arrest and to induce the proceedings
against you by the grand inquest of your
county, known as the grand jury. When
JO0 Oso ~ oO0y v CoPfCg y
them realize that you will benceforth be
an example, not only of good citizenship,
but OF conspicuousness for virtues of that
character. You are discharged in the hops
that these admonitions will be seriously
considered and scrupulously practiced. :"
To this, bowling respectfully, the de-
PENDANTS nervously m0rmured '.Gra
cas-
The crime of which the defendants
had been accused was one of the most
monstrous ever perpetrated in this
Territory, The murder of a lonely, old
woman, afler outraging her daughter,
but the crime was committed in such
al out-of-the-way a locality that all
efforts TO track the unseen murdereTS
have up to the present been fertile.
The trial of Jose Secundino Hidalgo
for the murder of Carlos Cordova on
the oath OF May, 1895, took up all the
forenoon in the taking of the testimony
for the defense. The killing was ad-
mitted, q witness for the prosecution
aud the defendant himself testifying
tnat defendant shot Cordova twice
with q revolver. 1t was shown, both
by the prosecution and the defense,
that at the moment of the shooting.
doooosad nod a W~;ncbestar in hls
seSds h.is ra;saa rasdv for firing
..s - e.. aoma nrau;o,s ccnvor
sa.;on :, ! has,ad charsc,sr n which
he called Hidalgo q -, asked hi
dalgo to come out OF the house and
prove he wal q man.
But the case for tie prosecution
' sao" ~ 49, snr,h,r1 ravsr
ga IaI,h"noh hari1r W;nchastsr
- -. sand u;ds,oe having acted
.ar. ,n,,La . rssi h;ds,oo .onid have
ss.oa ia ssad 100 nssora C,,rdova
$500 80. rasdr
So ! .h;... 4, 80 .s.e
:. .ha, Cordovs ,hourh he m;cht have
a.. ;ns;Sa nc honsa d;d nj ID AZ.
sa;.sn. IA u;d.Ico .hos. onnortrni,v
80 "nna,,n nooe rardova mad No,
- no;n.sa y w,rcnasssr a. H,daI.
90 thonoh annarantlv ready 70 do SO.
80 ~ art;as hsd not coma ~ All
sru lima ac,nal hlows Cordova
swora he had bean warned that Hidal.
- hsd mada : hosst that Cordova had
Sattar loot ont for himsals Witnesaes
s~css ~ Icaa,;.r I c~osrhhorhood ~
Eo,som asve ~v;asn tend;no n show
.ha.sha 5sca.saa MA ! hed renntation
80 aaaossr,rass and w.s rsoardad 40
S.nrsrors man whila the dafandan,
was considered rather a well behaved !
person.
Mr.. Larraz 10. In addressing the
iurv. did not press hard for q con-