The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-24
FIVE YEARS FOR DUGAN
Judge Blair. Inficts the Full
Penalty for Larceny
Assault Trial Monday.

Thomas alias Red" Dugan, the no.
torious and desperate crook, will not
bother the police for some time to come.
He was convicted in the General Ses-
sions Court, yesterday afternoon, of lar
ceny and Judge Blair at once sentenced
him to three years in State Prison and
81, 600 fine, the full penalty of the law.
Dugan was tried for breaking into the
Rev. j. C. J. Petersen's house, No. 247
Third street, on Sunday night, January
Is, and when discovered by Mrs. Petersen
who was alone in the house. fired a shot
at her. The bullet missed her, otherwise
Dugan might have been on trial for
murder. Lawyer Joseph M. Noonan ap-
peared for the defendant and made such
hard fight that his client escaped with
a conviction for larceny when it should
have been burglary. This was no fault
of the jury. When the jury was being
drawn Mr.. Noonan challenged ten, and,
on challenging the eleventh, the Court
Crier suggested that the defence's chal-
lenges We're exhausted. Mr.. Van Wrinkle
and the Court held that such was the
case. At recess Mr. Noonan looked up
the law and found that twenty peremp-
tory challenges are allowed to the de-
fendant in a burglary case and called
the Courts attention to the fact. He
asked that the defendant be discharged,
as he was being illegally tried. Assist
ant Prosecutor Van Wrinkle did not pro-
pose to let Red" get off in that easy
fashion, so he suggested that the count
in the indictment for breaking be elimi-
mated and the defendant be tried on the
fn lor nd
the trial went on.
Mrs. Petersen testified that she was sit
ting in the library reading when she heard
a noise downstairs. A few moments af-
terward she heard noise in the adjoining
room, and opening the door saw in the
dim light a man fumbling at the bureau
She asked, who's there?" The man
turned, and drawing a revolver fired shot
at her. The bullet entered the panel of
the door just above her head. The man
ran out and the witness raising the front
window gave an alarm Mrs. Petersen
would not swear positively that Dugan
was the man she saw. She said that
the man had a light complexion and a
desperate looking face.
E. F. MARITIME, of No. 6S Wayne street,
testified that he saw Dugan running past
Grace Church with a revolver in his
hand and followed him.
Herman Greenberg, the next witness,
saw the defendant running past Mayor
Hoos' house with the revolver in his
hand, and kept sight of him until he
turned into an areaway in First street.
Policemen Wolf and Morasch went into
the areaway with drawn revo1vers and
found Dugan hiding in coal bin. The
pistol was found in an ash barrel. When
he was searched at the Seventh street
station Mrs. Petersen's pocketbook and 50
in nickels done UP in 50 rolls were found
in his possession. Mrs. Petersen recog-
nized the property as hers.
Everybody in the Court room was sur
prised that in the face of this overwhelm-
ing testimony the defendant should have
stoood trial He did not take the stand
to make any explanation.
In summing up Assistant Prosecutor
Van Wrinkle scored the defendant un-
mercifully. The jury remained out lit
tie more than an hour.
shooting at Mrs. Petersen.