The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-04
NEW TRIAL REFUSED
HARNESS CONVICTION MUST STAND,
JUDGE FALLIGANT SAYS.
KILLED JOHN WoLLENDER
AND WAS SENTENCED TO THE PEN
ITENTIARY FOR LIFE.


the Ship HoImewood, Was Seeing
the Sights of Yamacraw, With
Two or Three COMPREHENSIVE
mon Barnes, Negro, Was Their
Guide-In "a Row over COmpensa-
ton, He shot and Fatally Wound
ed the Snilor-FOund Guilty, and
the Jury's Recommendation Saved
His Meteorological Witnesses Now
in England.
Judge Falligant rendered decision in
the Superior Court yesterday overrulng
the motion for a new trial in the case
of Sylmon Barnes, indicted, tried, convict
ed and sentenced to the penitentiary for
life for the murder of John Wollender.
Wollender was an assistant engineer of
the British steamship Holmewood, that in
November of last year was loading cotton
at this port. In the early morning of Nov.
Is Wollender and two or three of his
shipmates were seeing the town, and, as
is somewhat the custom Of sailors, paying
special attention to the worst portion Of
it.
They met Barnes, negro, in Yama-
craw, and he volunteered, for consider
alton, to show them the sights. He did
show them number including enough
bars to satisfy the thirst with which most
of the members of the party were
troubled. They were all in rather be-
fuddled condition when they stopped at
the house of Margaret Price, a notorious
negro woman, whose evil conduct in the
past has caused her to spend several
terms on the gang. She has a family
with regulations no betetr than her own.
| In this house the trouble began. Barnes
| was dissatisfied with the amount of the
| tender made him for his services as guide
| and a noisy and profane argument eusued
| between him and Wollender. The negro
demanded more money and the sailor re-
fused to give it. Argument led to abuse
and finally to threats.
| Then Barnes pulled revolver from
| his pocket and Wollender grabbed at the
weapon. He got hold of Barnes instead
| and the two men, locked in each others
arm, fighting and struggling for the pos
session of the weapon, stumbled against
the door of the house, which opened to
the momentum of the impact, and out in
to the street. A few seconds afterwards
a shot was fired.
| The companions of the sailor and the
| inmates of the house rushed out to find
| Wollender doubled up on the ground, with
a pistol wound 10 the groin. The negro
had disappeared. From a description of
him, however, he was recognized as
| Barnes and he was found at the house of
a woman with whom he was intimate,
and arrested as he tried to make his es-
cape by the back way.
Meantime Wollender was carried in the
| police ambulance to the Savannah Hospi-
| tai, where he died on the succeeding af-
| ternoon.
At the trial of his case, Barnes denied
| that he had been with the sailors on the
night Wollender was shot, and attempt
| ed to establish an alibi. 1t broke down
completely under the solicitor generals
| cross examination. The evidence of VOL
| lenders companions of the night he was
shot, as well as that of Margaret Price
and the other inmates of the house where
| the difficulty began, was positive to the
| effect that Barnes wes the man.
The motion for a new trial was based
| principally however, not on this conten-
ton of mistaken identity, but on various
alleged errors in the charge of the court.
| Col George T. Cam. leading counsel for
| the defendant, argued that Judge FALL
| CANT had omitted in his charge to state
| principles of law vital to the clear under
standing by the jury of the prisoner
| case ana nae. STATED incorrectly Otner
| principles of law, designed by the law for
the prisoners protection.
after full consideration of the within
motion" Judge Fulligant said in his opin-
ion of yesterday, land of the various
amended grounds of motion, the motion
is overruled and new trial refused
Pending the final decision of the case,
Barnes is still confined in the county jail
! The case will be carried by counsel to
| the Supreme Court, where a second eff
| fort to obtain a new trial will be made
Since the first trial of the case, which
took place last January, the principal
witnesses against Barnes. the sailors who
were with Wollander on the night he was
shot, have sailed away to England, and
| Margaret Price and her family and other
witnesses of somewhat similar reputa-
| ton and antecedents are all that are now
left to support the states case. Under
| the circumstances, it is not at all UNI
likely that the state would fail to secure
a second conviction and the Supreme
Courts decision in the matter WILL there
fore, be awaited with considerable inter-
est Should it be favorable to the de-
PENDANT, 1t may be equivalent to an ac-