The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-20
JOHN LUCAS
FOUND GUILTY
is Negro Charged With Pill
laying Houses in Wichita.
BURGLARY AND LARCENY
In First Degree Returned
Trial of Many Features.

John Lucas, alias John Thomas, VINO
/ was charged with robbing TIRE house Of
Dr. c. Z Scott az ~ North Emporia
/ avenue and accused Of doing al she rob
/ hing that Wichita was subjected 70 for
/ so long q time al the beginning OF the
/ present year. was found guilty OF bur
/ Esary and larceny IN the first degree
/ yesterday. Sentence vas deferred Ins
( jury made short work Of the case The
I evidence that convicted Lucas was that
which showed he had confessed the
whole crime TO Chief Burt. HAIRY SUIT
ron and Marshal Schadd Also that the
watch found at j jewelers. store where
( be sold It as the stolen one The jim
/ mics found In his room exactly FITTED
{ the marks maze On rhe windows Of the
/ houses robbed, according to the testirnO-
/ ny OF the first two OF the witnesses. Mr..
! Dick Dodge testified that the prisoner
Lucas told him that he wished 70 con-
1 fess, but that his lawyer you'd not al
/ low him 10 DO So
| The defense. represented by zfr Keith.
( introduces three colOred women 70 show
! that Lucas had not left his room az his
place IN the six hundredth block on
North Main street during the time the
burglary was committed. These witnesses
! testified that Lucas had been lying on
( his bed drunk al day and had not left
/ Il between the hours OF : and Il on the
18th day Of the month, az which time
I tbs robbery vas charged to have been
/ committed They said that one of them
/ kept time for the defendant and thar
every fifteen minutes he took a drink Of
whisky. on cross examination one Of
these women admitted that she took
one drink Of the liquor This put her as
a witness in discredit with the jury
Lucas was put upon the stand and tes-
titled that he was AZ home drunk the
MIST Dr. Sc0E house was robbed. He
testified to details which the prosecution
[ declared the defendant could not have
noticed II he was in the condition he de-
clared he was When the defendant was
cross examined. he refused three times
70 answer as 10 whether he had served a
term IN the penitenuary The court in
formed him that unless he answered that
question ali his testimony would be
thrown out This brought him 70 time
finally and he answered that he had just
served his time out in 1893.
The prosecution showed 70 the satisfac-
ton of the jury that evidence introduced
by the defense to prove an abb was not
reliable.
The defense in its argument declared
that circumsta ntfaI evidence could not al
ways be relied on and cited the case Of
. Josephs abduction. He declared that the
confession was forced from Lucas by
Chief Burt who felt il his duty 70 catch
the thief that piliaged so NAM Wichita
homes He argued that the defendant
WAS in a nervous condition when he was
/ arrested for having sold a stolen watch
which the defense swore that he had
bought Of a man who met him on the
street and offered him the watchworth q
hundred and fifty dollars for ten dollars
This bargain he testified he took Up by
paying with the watch with two FIVE dol
lar bills he had found OF Douglas ave
nl,e. Attorney FOR the defense declared
that he was bulldozed into confessing
but Attorney Huffman for the prosecution
showed IN Il clear cut matter Of fact way
that II was well nigh an inpossibiilty q
bulldoze the defendant and cited the case
when he refused 70 answer as 20 his nav
( Ing served a term in the penltentiary. Mr.
( Huffman argued that II the admoaidons
Of Judge Dale brought no answer from
the defendant then the buildozing o.
Frank Burt woUld have no greater effect
The jimmie was brought into evidence
and into argument. The defense declared
that 81 was no more than a screw driver
that could be found az the home Of any
man. lT7- J. Comfy clinched the case
against the defendant