Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-15
POSITIVE IT WAS ROGERS
Butcher LetchfOrd Says Eyes and Nose
Gould Not Be Mistaken.
DETAILS HOW rs WAS HELD UP IN SHOP
Defendant Asks for Time to PROCURE
witnesses to show He Vas I'm
Hot Springs on Date
of Robbery.

"The moment I saw those eyes and that
nose l knew that he was the man who
held me up and robbed me-" was the pos
tive statement Of Charles W. Letchford
in Justice Ouren's court yesterday morn
ing as he turned and pointed his finger
at w. c. Rogers, alias Frank Parsons,
whose preliminary hearing on the charge
Of murderously assaulting Letchford was
being held. Rogers was arrested on sus-
picion OF being one Of the two men who
shot and killed saloonkeeper Bert Forney
on the night Of April 8. The day following
his arrest he was identified by Letchford
as the man who had held him up and
robbed him In his meat market on South
Main street on the night Of March 2.
Letchford was tho FIRST witness placed
on the stand and he told in detail the
story Of how he had been robbed at the
point Of a revolver. He said that he had
Just completed counting his days receipts
and had placed the money in a sack when
a man with features partly. concealed with
a white handkerchief entered and pointing
a revolver in his face demanded that he
hold up his hands. Letchford demurred
| when the fellow said he wanted his money
and that he did not want to kill him but
he would have to II he did not at once
hand over the sack containing the money.
Letchford then realized he was zip against
the real thing and not only handed over
the sack containing about $50 in silver,
but drew a IS bill from his vest pocket
which he also presented to the robber with
the request that as he had the money to
90. The robber, however. with his re-
volver close UP to Letchford's face, COM
PEELED him to back into the rear room. AS
the robber followed Letchford grappled
with him and succeeded in wrestling the
revolver away and threw the fellow to the
floor. In the scufie the gun was discharged
and as the robber rose to his feet Letch-
ford fred again. He tried to shoot again
but the gun missed FIRE. The ,robber fell
against the sausage bench calling out For
Gods sake don't shoot any more; you have
killed me anyhow" Letchford, however,
took another shot at him and tried to do
so again, but the weapon refused to work.
At this point In his story Letchford
stated that 1t was his intention to kill his
assailant and he would lave fred twelve
shots had there been that many IN the re-
volver. Thinking he had mortally wounded
the robber, Letchford ran to the front of
his shop and called for help, but when he
returned he found that the robber had
made his escape by breaking out a rear
window and had taken the sack OF money
with him. 'r. .'
Letchford testified that during his pro-
longed encounter with the robber he had
every opportunity to get an excellent view
J Of him and was positive in his Identification
of Rogers as his assailant. He said the
handkerchief the robber wore over his face
only concealed the part below the nose,
leaving the upper part uncovered.
Caleb Ellsworth, a carpenter, testified
to passing Letchford's shop a few minutes
before hearing the shots and noticed a man
looking through the window INTO the shop
as Letchford was standing at the counter
counting his cash. The man had a white
handkerchief in his hand and the witness
said that he resembled the defendant,
Rogers.
These we're the only witnesses examined
yesterday and a continuance was taken to
this morning when counsel for the defend
ant will ask for a further continuance for
a week in order to secure the attendance
Of witnesses who would testify that Rogers
was in Hot Springs, Ark, on March 2.