The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1904-12-09
Charged With a Heinously Cruel
Crime.
Inflicted Horrible Cuts ON Mr.. FINS
Lacks Pony. and Broke Into
Grocery Store.
SUPPOSED TO BE HaLF-wITTED.

The case OF lobe Dennis, who has
for several years been a menace to
The peace and safety OF Paducah, fur
nishes food for reflection on the sue
cess OF our state institutions for the
insane and degenerate. Dennis is
too crazy to be kept in the peniten-
tiary, and too sane TO be confined in
the asylum. A jury usually releases
him for his meanness because he is
clearly weak minded. and the asy-
lums will not keep him because he
is not insane"
Last night Dennis. for perhaps
the dozenth time in his checkered
career, went on rampage. He
broke into the Biederman grocery at
l Eleventh and jefferson streets, and
the home of Mr.. Lack near by and
committed the most fiendish piece Of
cruelty to a dumb beast ever report
ed to the police of Paducah.
This morning the cook at Mr. F.
Z. Lacks. at 1860 Monroe street,
when she went into the yard. found
a panel broken from the fence. and
the stable door open. Thinking
that perhaps the pony had escaped.
she ran to the stable, and then has
tened back with horror depicted in
every feature.
oh" she exclaimed. somebody
has cut the pony all to pieces
An investigation revealed the fact
that this was not far from right. A
most horrible sight greeted the eyes
of Mr.. Lack when he went to the sta
BILE. His handsome little pony had
been slashed in a dozen or more
places. The flesh was cut to the
bone in places, and hung in strips.
The little animal stood and quivered
in its agony, while the floor was
covered with blood. There is no
telling how long il had been stand
ing in the stable with its flesh hack
ed and slit in this horrible manner.
Mr.. Lack at once had the animal
taken to Dr. Warner, the veterinary.
An examination was made, and DR..
Warner stated that he found the ami
mails flesh cut in ten plates on one
side, and four IN another. and that
the gashes were all from six to
twelve inches, and evidently made
with a razor or sharp knife. There
we're some small cuts. but the larger
ones were horrible. DR., Warner
measured los inches, or nine feet, of
cuts that would have TO be sewed up,
and stated that It would require fully
five hundred stitches to close the
wounds.
Mr.. Lacks only solution was that
fiend. or some degenerate person
not responsible for his acts commit
ted the deed. as he didn't know of a
person on earth who would have been
guilty of It through spite or malice.
He told the veterinary to do what he
could for the pony, and while infam-
nation may later cause death, there
is a chance to save II.
AS the animal was led through the
streets with the huge wounds gaping
in its sides. scores Of people saw and
shuddered. and freely declared that
no torture would be too mueh for
the brute who committed the deed.
Never in the annals of crime in this
section has such thing been done
before, and there was a great deal of
talk about II down town.
The case was reported to the police
and they soon found the culprit.
lobe Dennis, half witted, deprayed
youth, was arrested for breaking into
the Biederman grocery at Eleventh
and jefferson. almost directly back
of the Lack home. He had blood on
his clothing. and blood was found
where entrance was gained to the
grocery.
A complete investigation revealed
the fact that Dennis must have en-
tered the Lack stable first and did
the cutting, afterward breaking into
the Biederman grocery. The blood
stains on Dennis shirt, on the Lack
stable and on the window sill of the
grocery show that the cutting and
stealing were evidently done by the
same person.
Dennis. according to the police,
went to his fathers shoe shop near