The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-24
Jailer Kennedy Entertains
Harris and Jenkins
The COURTS REMARKS
IN WHICH REBUKE is DEALT
LITERALLY AROUND
The Stevens Divorce Suit Being Held
With Closed Doors-Develop-
ments in the Creole Case

Another chapter was added to the
Topper scandal yesterday when Har
vey Jenkins and Fay Harris, the
"feigned accompMces' in the case, were
sentenced in department one for con-
tempt of court in having deliberately fail
ed to obey a subpoena issued from the
court.
Af1idavits were filed in behalf of both
the defendants by Attorney Earl
Rogers, in which denial was made that
either one had been guilty of any con-
tempt. The affidavit of Fay Harris was
tn more specific and in it he denied that
Attorney Walter Rose, of counsel for
the defense in the Topper case, had ever
served him with a subpoena, ticket or
paper, but did concede the essential fact
that Rose found him with jenkins in bed
and intimated that he had a subpoena
for them. Harris went on to say that he
had never been requested to attend the
trial until Attorney Bernard Mills found
him in Santa Monica canyon, and even
then he was not served with a subpoena,
but accompanied his captor voluntarily.
At that time Jenkins had stated' that
if they had been served they would have
attended in court, which was true. AS
it was they both attended in response to
a bench warrant and without any other
process of court having been served.
The only point really of interest in
these documents is the affirmation on
the part of Harris that after they had
been brought from the canyon, and
were with Mr.. Kennedy, they were Civ
en- the advice by Attorney Mills to skip
cut. Inasmuch as the skipping out at
that time might have been risky bust
ness and would have been of problem
atical benefit to the defense, the asser-
ton may be taken with large grain of
salt that has been necessary with all
the utterances of both Harris and Jen-
kins.
The court in passing upon the matter
scored not only the defendants, but those
presumed to have been directly or indi-
rectly concerned with them in the mat
ters developed during the trial of the
Topper case. The case, Judge Smith
said, was most unpleasant to him, and
placed the sheriff and district attorneys
offices in an unfavoraole light. The
statement of Harris that he had been
advised by Attorney Mills to skip out
he did not believe. The Topper case he
pronounced a most unsavory one, and
he was of the opinion that both men hac
been subpoenaed and by both sides, al
though regarding this he could not abb
eolutely be sure.
Judge Smith drew attention to the fact
of Detective Con Mallory, of the district
attorneys office, having referred the
subpoena to Jailer Kennedy, and then
Harris and jenkins stating to Attorney
Rose that they had been subpoenaed by
the people, as very curious coincidence,
to say the least. Referring to the allie
cations said to have been made, that
cs7tain parties had Influence with his
court and the supreme court through the
attorney generals office, the court said
that whoever such might be they would
have to reach very far before being able
to affect his ideas either one way or an
other Save along the legitimate lines
prescribed. Judge Smith spoke with We
hemence and enlarged at some length
upon these shameful and outrageous
stories.
The court, in concluding, said that
having been duly served with subpoenas
the defendants were clearly in contempt
of court, and Fay Harris and Harvey
were thereupon sentenced to pay $50
each or be imprisoned in the county jail
one day for each 50 of the fine, or forty
days each.
Not having the money to pay the fine
the defendants were both taken by the
deputy sheriff to the Jail. 1t is proba-
Bile that an application will be made to
the supreme court of the state to have
them released on habeas corpus. Mean
time, however. there is no reason to sup
pose that either Harris or Jenkins will
receive very harsh treatment while in
Jail. There is some talk, too, of steps
being taken to have the matter of Jail
Kennedy's participation in the Upper
scandal being more fully and directly
ventilated than was possible during a
trial such as the one recently closed. A
difficulty exists, however, that may be a
bar to any such proceeding. Any citi-
zen who has reason to believe that he
through the "feigned accomplices'' in
cited to crime, may swear to COM
plant. On the eXamina ton, however,
not to mention the trial, of such a case
it would. be prosecuted by the district at
torney's office, and it necessarily has a
direct interest in the matter. Every one
knows the scriptural dictum regarding
"a house divided against ITSELF" and in
the prosecution of Col" Upper, with
all it's dubious methods, the district at
torney and sheriff's offices have of ne
cesSity stood together.
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