The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-30
KILLED DREW BRAZIL
GRAND JURY INDICTED HENRY
JOHNSON FOR MURDER.
CRIME is TWO YEARS OLD.
BRAZIL WAS KILLED AT BLOOMING
DALE IN OCTOBER, 1890.

johnson Admits Shooting Two other
Negroes, Whom He Charges with
Robbing Him, but Denies His Guilt
of the Homicide-One of the Ne
srOes He Shot N Witness Against
Him-Defendant First Arrested for
DisOrderIy Conduct-White Man
Must Answer for Alleged Murder
Gus Assault on Negro Woman-No
Politics at Jury's Session.
The grand jury of the Superior Court
yesterday returned special presentment
against Henry Johnson, in which he is
charged with the wiiful and deliberate
murder of Drew Brazil. The homicide is
alleged 10 have been committed on October
/. 1899.
About three weeks ago johnson was
picked up by Mounted Patroiman Meldrim
for disorderly conduct. After he had been
carried to the station house it developed
that he was suspected of the murder of
Brazil and he has since been confined in
the county Jail, where he still is. Johnson
is negro, as was the man whom he is
said to have killed.
Drew Brazils body was found in ditch
near Bloomingdale on the morning of Oc-
tober 2. Though Johnson was then sus-
pected of the homicide no effort seems 10
have been made to effect his arrest
no inquest was held upon the body of the
dead negro and the killing apparently ex-
cited very little interest.
Johnson denies any and all completely
in the crime with which he is charged.
His story is that two negroes, Nose Bra
I'll and Kid VIII, robbed him of $40 in
money. He demanded the moneys return
and the negroes who had taken il from
him said he would have to gamble to get
it back. This he refused to do and in
stead went off and got a shotgun with
which to enforce his demand.
The men he charges with having robbed
him, according to his story, had by this
time taken shelter in a nearby house and
when he came up opened fire on him with
revolvers He returned the fire with the
shotgun, discharging both buckshot-load-
ed barrels through the open door of the
house. Both of the men inside were
wounded, but both, he says, recovered.
son says assaulted and robbed
him, was a witness before the
grand jury, and # was almost
exclusively upon the evidence that he
furnished that the defendant was present
ed for murder. He is a relative of the
Drew Brazil who was killed. Johnson,
while he admits shooting the men he says
robbed him, denies absolutely having had
anything 10 do with the homicide of Drew
Brazil.
For a week or more Johnson was held
at the station house and the county jail
without any specific charge being made
against him, and the reasons for his in
generation and detention were OCCASION
ing some wonder when the Morning News
gave the story. Undoubtedly the state
has some evidence which it has not made
public, as County Detective Charlton has
been active in working up the case
against the defendant.
The grand jury indicted D. NJ. Wallace
a white man, for assault with intent to
murder Annie Pinckney, a negro woman.
The assault which forms the basis of the
indictment was committed with a knife,
at the corner of West Broad and Con-
gress streets, on Saturday night. The
story of the alleged offense and of Wal
laces arrest is told elsewhere in the
Morning News.
r. w. WEIGHS is charged Dy the grand
jury with the offense of larceny after
trust. The indictment sets forth that
| Virgins was entrusted by Edward Lewis
with an order upon w. d. Osborne for IS
in money, for the purpose of cashing the
| order and turning the proceeds over to
| Edwards. Instead of so doing it Is
charged. Virgins collected the money and
| converted it to his own use.
| Three true bills for burglary were re-
| turned, the defendants being Joe Law,
| Richard Jones and James Lewis. These
are separate offenses, having no connec-
ton with each other, and each defendant
| being separately indicted.
The session of the grand jury was a
| comparatively short one, lasting little
more than an hour. There were no wit
nesses before it to testify of matters po-
| litical and the investigation of conditions
| at the last special election seems to have
been dropped. It's experience with the
| witnesses ii has examined has sufficed to
convince the grand jury that there is no
! hope of obtaining evidence which would
warrant the return of indictments against
| anybody.