The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-16
GARDNER GETS IS YEARS
A Jury Finds Him Guilty Of
Burglary.
WITH INTENT TO MURDER
He Broke Into the House OF Clara Pierce
and Threatened to XIII Her With
a Knife about a Foot
Long.

Frank Gardner. a colored man. was
yesterday sentenced to Is years In the
penitentlary by a jury in the district
court. Gardner was found guilty of
the crime Of burglary in the first de-
gree, with intent TO commit murder.
The jury was composed as follows: E..
j. Evans. Emerson Sowle. Alex Cam
eron. ". Rock. n. T. Templeton. @. d..
o'Neill, r. d.. Thompson. p. Leven-
good. b. +. crosswhite. W. VI. Thorn
ten, Durrell whitcraft and william J.
Gallagher.
The state was represented by Assis-
tant County Attorney Self and N. d.
Kelly appeared for the defense. The
substance Of the prosecutions testi-
mony was substantially as follows:
ON the night Of Sept. 26. at about AIS
O'Clock in the morning. Gardner went
TO the house occupied by Clara Pierce.
a woman of the town. residing In the
Northern addition, knocked on the door
and demanded admission. He received
n s2on to his raps. A witness or
two testified that while Gardner was
knocking at the door. he made threats
tC do up" some one.
Finding no answer to his demands
for admission at the front door. Gard
ner went around TO a side window.
where he again raped. and the wo-
man refused to admit him. Gardner
then picked up a large rock. about the
size OF a muskmelon. This he threw
at the window. IL fell about three feet
from the bed in which the woman lay.
Gardner proceeded to pick out the rest
OF the glass with his hands and en-
tered the 10 The woman sprang
from the bed. and Gardner. pulling out
a knife with "A gnrfnr nanE whlah
when opened. was about eight inches
long, with this weapon threatened to
kill her.
The noise OF the breaking glass at
tracted the attention of a policeman.
The officer stationed a man at the front
door and went to the window. He saw
Gardner. with appraised arm. standing
over the woman. with the knife in his
hand and making threats that he
would do her up brown" The officer
at the window yelled at Gardner. who
closed his knife and made a break for
the front door. The policeman entered
the house by a rear door and followed.
stationed at the front door. who turned
HIM over to the police and he was
locked up.
AT his preliminary examination In
the police court. Gardner told an en-
tirely different story from that which
he told in the district cOur yesterday.
in his own behalf. He said that he
had gone to Clara Pierce's house at
about IL o'clock and engaged a room
for the night. He occupied the room
for three hours and then went out to
get a drink. At about 4 o'clock he re-
turned and knocked at the door. but
received no reply. He then went to
the window where. he said. he gave a
prearranged signal by taps on the
glass.
As he was standing at the window.
so he said. a rock came past him and
went through n window. He then
wheeled about and warned the invisible
rock thrower not to ccme nearer. at
the same time drawing his knife. Just
then the policeman came along and ar
rested him..
The prosecution tore his testimony to
pieces by showing that there was a
space of only three feet between the
Pierce woman's house and the house
lei in line. and that IL would be i'm
possible for a rock to be thrown from
behind Gardner. The state also had
witnesses who heard the threats OF
Gardner. while h latter was inside
the house.
Upon the conclusion OF the testimony.
arguments and the Instructions from
the court. the jury retired. A verdict
was returned in eight minutes. find
ing Gardner guilty and fixing his pun
ishment at Is years in the states
DrisOn-