The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-08-21

LUCIUS GAINES
ASSAULTS AN OFFICER
And is Shot and Killed by
Sheriff Dunn Sunday
Morning. m

On Sunday morning about 8 O'Clock
! Sheriff D d. Dunn, and Deputies Con,
ger and Northcutt, and his son, Mr.. Jim
Dunn, and Mr.. Will Hicks, visited the
house occupied by Luda Melodies and
Ida Hopkins, two notorious colored wo.
men, who live in the negro settlement
known as "Hollandtown." The officers
surrounded the house and discovered
that crowd of negro men were play.
ing cards and gambling, They entered
the building and arrested Joe Jones,
John Thomas, alias, 'Stewmeat, Hen
~ Banks, Sam Lakeque, and Lucius
Gaines, all the negroes were engaged in
the game. Mr.. Jim Dunn was instruct
ed to take hold of Lucius Gaines, Sher.
if Dunn took hold of Henry Banks and
the other officers had the other three
negroes. Mr.. Jim Dunn got out on the
veranda with Gaines, having no weapon
! but piece of hickory stick from q
buggy. Sheriff Dunn at this iuncture
said, Hold up there and all line up. y
Mr.. Jim Dunn stopped and looked back
to see if the others were coming, when
Gaines grabbed the stick out of his
hand and struck him on the left side of
the head terrible blow knocking him
down but both fell off the veranda.
Dunn holding on to Gaines, while Gaines
continued to hit Dunn By this time
Sheriff Dunn came out of the house
and saw the danger his son was in and
still holding to his prisoner, who was
pulling back, forced him forward and
just as Gaines was on his knees about
to strike Mr.. Jim Dunn another serious
blow, Sheriff Dunn placed his pistol
near Gaines head and fired, the ball
striking him in the head and penetrat-
ing the brain. Sheriff Dunn without
ever relinquishing his hold on Banks
carried him on to the Jail, the other
officers securely holding on to their
prisoners and the four desperate gam
blers were placed in jail. The Sheriff
then summoned Drs. Field and Herd
who examined the wounded negro, and
found that the ball had entered the top
of his head and split, one piece going
down in front of the forehead under
skin which was extracted, and the other
piece into the brain. The doctors saw
there was no hope for the negro,
although Gaines was walking about in
the house. He was put under 'the in
fuence of cloroform for examination.
He died about two o'clock Sunday
afternoon.
Coroner NJ. R. Lyon held an inquest
with the following jurors: S. A. Ander-
son, Foreman, E. D. Herrin, H. r.
McClatchey, j. G. Rollins, B. W.
Griggs and John P. Cheney.
After hearing all the evidences the
coroner's jury rendered the following
verdict:
1--WE, the Jury chosen and sworn to
| inquire into the cause of the death OF
Lucius Gaines, colored, find from the
testimony that he came to his death
by pistol shot in the hands of D. D.
Dunn, Sheriff of Cobb county, and that
/ the same was done in the discharge OF
his duty and we exonorate him from
any blame"
| Lucius Gaines was an escaped con-
Wet from the chain gang in Franklin
county, making his escape in June,
having served three months of a
twelve months sentence for selling
whisky. Mr.. Neil Little, the boss OF
the chain gang, was here Monday in
search of Gaines but found him dead.
The two negro women, Hopkins and
Melodies attempted to leave the city on
the IL O'Clock train but were arrested
by the Sheriff.