The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-22
SIX YEARS PRISON
That Is Minimum Term Given
Safe Crackers.
Sentenced by Judge Dana, They
Keep Their Nerve.
COLEMAN MAKES PLEA.
COLEMAN MAKES PLEA.
Tells Court He Is About to
Sentence Innocent Men.
Cameron's Request, to Go to
Reformatory, Denied.

henderson ana j. q. Cameron were
brought into district court this morn
ing while their attorney argued for a
new trial. The defendants were con-
victed in the January term of court
of breaking into the commission house
of Armstrong and Anderson and blow
il..s the safe ana stealing the contents
amounting to $136. The burglary was
committed during the early hours of
morning. While the thieves were at
work ON the inside light snow fell
and as soon as the police arrived,
aroused by the noise made by the ex-
plosion, it was an easy matter to track
the robbers by their footprints in the
snow. They were followed to a board
ing house on Quincy street, where
they were all found occupying beds in
one room. Some of the mutilated coin
was found on their persons and Sc
creted about the room. In locating
the men the police blundered and did
not follow the tracks of but two of the
men. However. outsiders retraced the
tracks of the other two men from the
room where they were captured to the
alley back of where the robbery oc-
Cured. The attorney for the de-
PENDANTS made a strong fight on this
point for the Hberating of two of the
defendants but the jury took another
strong corroborating evidence which
showed that all of the quaBtette were
equally guilty.
There has been several bitches dur
ing the trial of the case. Attorney
Reitz of Kansas City after the convic-
tion refused to go on with the case
because money that had been prom
ised was not forthcoming and Judge
torneys to look after the interests of
the defendants in their motion for
new trial. The money seemed to
then be forthcoming as Attorney Reitz
was on hand this morning and pre-
sented the motion for a new trial In
his motion he alleged misconduct on
the part of the jury which tried the
case and had the entire jury before
the court this morning and attempted
to show irregularities. One of the
charges that he made was that jury
man Sam Lakin had told Ike Kicker
that he was under obligations to Mr..
Hungate and that for that reason he
voted for conviction. Kicker also said
that 'Lakin had said that he voted for
a verdict of not guilty on the first
ballot but finding that all of the re-
mainder of the jury were in favor of
conviction that he changed his vote
even though he did not believe that
the men should have been convicted"
Ike Kicker is a jointist who has been
safe blowers have been sojourning
there, and The evidence did not seem
to be worthy of consideration at all.
The strong, and in fact the only,
point upon which Attorney Reitz re-
lies for the reversal of the verdict by
the supreme court is, the fact that the
jury found that the amount of money
taken was $136.9S, while the prose-
cution claimed that only $132.97 was
taken. Mr.. Reitz claims that this one
error will reverse the case and cause
it to be remanded back for trial. He
claims to have numerous supreme
court decisions on this particular point
and that he was not relying to any
great extent upon the charge of irreg-
ularites on the part of the jurymen
to secure a new trial
Two of the convicted men appear
to be hardened criminals while the
other two might be taken for deaeons
in a religious gathering.
Attorney Reitz asked that J. C.
Cameron be sent to the state reforma-
tory. as he is but 20 years of age, but
this motion was oVerruled by. Judge
Dana, who said that it was the .judg-
ment of the court that all of the de-
PENDANTS should be treated alike, as
they all seem to be equally guilty.
Each of the defendants declared that
he was innocent when asked by the
court if they knew of any good reason
why sentence should not be passed. Jas.
Coleman, who is a man of more than
ordinary intelligence and might easily
pass for the pastor of an ariStocrat1e
charge and has acted as spokesman for
the Quartette ever since their incarcer-
alton in the county jail said: Address
ing the court we are not guilty of this
charge and the court is now about to
pass sentence upon innocent men, we
have not had fair trial, the. proSecut-
ing attorney in the case has made it one
of persecution instead of prosecution. A
crime had been committed and some one
had to be convicted. His argument be-
fore the jury was not fair towards us
at all and we feel that we We're con-
victed by the influence of his speech
upon the jury and not by the evidence
that was produced I know that all that
I may say at this time will not avail me
anything but I want to make this pub
lie protest against the actions of the
county attorney and sheriff of this coun-
ty who were determined from the first
to convict us whether we were guilty or
not"
F. H Cole made the same talk that
Coleman made and charged that the
jury was prejudiced from the first and
| that the prosecution WIS vicious ard
underhand
II Before passing sentence Judge Dailc.
| took occasion to say that the verdict
was the result of the deliberations of
one of the best bodies of men who has
ever acted in that caLacity in Shawnee
county and that as far as the court
could sac that no error had been COM
mitted on the part of the prosecution,
and that the trial had been fair one
and the verdict just. Each OF the de
| PENDANTS were then sentenced on, two
charges; one of burglary in the second
degree and the other of grand larceny.
| The sentence passed is under the new
| indeterTninate sentence law and means
/ that the prisoners must serve at least
| six years in the pen.tentiary at Leayen-
worth and that they may be compelled
| to serve Is years if the prison boar6
should so decide. attorney Reitz asked
for 10 days in which to file his appeal TO
| the surname court which was granted