The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-28
CASES WERE DISMISSED
Richard Baker and William Bell
Are Released.
NOT EVIDENCE ENOUGH
One Was Charged With Murder and the
Other With Robbery--A Written
Statement of the Baker
Case Submitted.

| Richard Baker and William G. Bell.
charged with murder and robbery re-
spectvely, were released from custody
yesterday and the cases against them dis
| missed BY Judge Clancy on motion of the
county attorney on the ground that there
was not sufficient evidence to warrant
| convictions. Mr.. Connolly submitted a
| written statement of the Baker case in
| which he said:
1.-The defendant, Richard Baker, was
arrested charged with the crime of MUIR
dering one Thomas Cavanaugh. There
were no witnesses to the crime, if any
was committed, except the defendant and
the deceased. The defendant has made,
| under OATH at the preliminary examina-
ton. statement to the effect that Thorn
| as Cavanaugh, the deceased, came into
| his cabin at 222 East Silver street, in the
| city of Butte, on the 18th day of Septem-
Der, 1898; that the defendant was asleep
| in bed at the time. his partner or room
| mate having left the cabin early in the
| morning to go to work. and having left
| the door unfastened; that about o'clock
the defendant awoke and found the de-
ceased in his room, stranger to him.
sitting on chair doing; that he got up
| and went over to the deceased and shook
him and asked him what he was doing
there and told him to get out and if he
didn't get out he would go and get a
policeman. The deceased thereupon got
up and started toward the door and shut
| 1t and then turned upon the defendant
and said, You l have got you
now, and asked where his hat was. The
defendant told the deceased that he had
ms hat on his head. and the deceased
still assuming threatening attitude, the
defendant tried to get past him and out
OF the door. Thereupon the deceased
struck him and scuffie ensued and the
defendant. not knowing the man nor what
MS purpose was in the cabin, was in fear
of him. The defendant was a small man
ana the deceased was a large one. Dur
ing the scuf11e knife lay on the table in
the center of the room and an AK in the
corner of the room. The defendant, dur
ing the scuff1e, seeing the ak, picked it up
to protect himself, and there not being
enough room to strike with the AK the
defendant gave the deceased showing
blow which struck him on the head.
There is no evidence in the transcript of
the preliminary hearing as to what the
deceased said at the time in regard to
the affair, except the one statement that
he remarked to one of the witnesses that
the less said about the matter the better
the statements made by the deceased
when not under sense of impending
death. shows that such statements are
adverse to the state and in foVar of the
defendant. Such statements were to the
effect that the deceased said, while in the
hospital suffering from his injury and
before his death, that it was his own fault
and he had brought the trouble upon him.
self. There is no evidence to establish
anything on the part of the state except
some statements made by the defendant
to parties Immediately after the trouble
as to what had happened, and these state
ments are not sufficient upon which to
base a prosecution The magistrate E.
j. Laurandeau, bound the defendant over
to the district court for trial on the re-
quest of the deputy county attorney on
or about Oct. 20. Since that time further
investigation has failed to develop any
other evidence than that which was pro-
duced at the preliminary hearing, there
fore the county attorney moves the court
to dismiss the action and discharge the de-
PENDANT, Richard Baker,
In the Bell case the county attorneys
statement gave the following facts: Bells
co-defendant John Ryan, pleaded guilty
under the information on the 18th day of
January, and was by the court sentenced
to imprisonment in the state prison for is
years. Bell was arrested by the city po-
lice department at the instance of w. J.
Lloyd, he claiming at the time of the ar
rest that he identified him as the man
who. in company with the defendant, Ry-
an, held him up on Dec. %, but at this
time the Identification is not so positive,
and the county attorneys office is in pos
session of facts which lead to the belief
that mistake has been made in the
case as to the identity of the defendant
Bell. Investigation also shows that Bell
is able to esta blish an alibi, and there is
no other evidence in the case but the
probable Identification by Lloyd, which is
not positive enough to convict.
After hearing the motions Judge Clancy
ordered the release of Baker and Bell.