Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-13
MUST FACE A JURY
WILLIAM PRUITT HELD BY COR
ONER'S JURY.
Held Responsible for Death of William
Steele-Result Of Investi-
cation.

cation.
Coroner hewitt conducted an investiga-
| ton this morning at IL o'clock into the
circumstances attending the shooting Of
! William Steele, who died yesterday after
| noon of wounds inflicted by William
| Pruitt at Twining City last Sunday after
noon.
The prisoner arrived at the morgue hand
| cuffed to Officer Mccormick. To a re-
porter of The Star Pruitt said he had no
| fear of the outcome of the trial 1t was a
| case of self-defense. Steele he said. came
| into his house and attacked him. He ex-
hibited cut over the left eye, and said
| he was badly hurt about the head.
| Officer Raedy testified to finding Steele
| in pool of blood at the old Naylor man.
sion. He asked him who had shot him
and he said Pruitt. Asked why he did 1t.
Steele replied, He done 1t for nothing"
| That was all he said except to urge me to
| hurry him to the hospital.
| Officer Mccormick. who with Officer
Dyer caught the fugitive. was the next
| witness. He was off duty Sunday and
| the lieutenant sent for him. He imme-
| diately started a search. and with Officers
| some bushes feigning Sleep He was
| promptly placed under arrest.
| At the station. defendant referred to a
statement made by him. in which he said;
About IL or u o'clock Sunday morning
l was going over to my sons house to get
a music box and on my way over met my
| son VIII, accompanied by William Steele.
Charles Chesedine and Robert Brown.
| They had a quart of whisky and asked me
to have drink. Then l told them l had
a key of beer at my house and to come
| and have some; SO We all went to my
house. We had been drinking for while
when Cheseldine said he was hungry, so I
| gave him something to eat. While he was
| eating Steele came In the door and started
| to fight me. / don't know whether he hut
| me with something or not. Then ran up
| stairs into my room and got my gun and
| came down and shot him. He then ran
| out of the house and l put the gun away
| found me-"
Was Very Drunk.
Charles Cheseldine stated he went to the
home Of Pruitt very drunk and knew moth
ing of the affair. when I get drunk"
said the witness, Il go right to sleep and
hear nothing" The sound of the gun
reused him.
Mrs Pruitt, wife of the defendant, gave
some of the details of the affair. She testi-
| fled to the visit of the men, one of whom
| was drunk and asleep in the wagon. She
| saw 1t was hard crowd. Her son volun-
| teered to get them away. They took Chesel-
| line out of the wagon and laid him under
| the tree. Steele objected to the playing of
| the music box, and said he going to
| stop it. He called to her husband and said
| he was going to beat him. Her husband,
| hearing her demonstrate with Steele, came
/ down stairs and told him he had better go
! away from there or he would make him.
Steele then ran away. She thought the
| trouble all over. He came back in a
| little while and burst open the door and
| attacked her husband. hitting him on the
| side of the head He had something in his
| ba fhpSeldina Joined the fracaS. and
| during the scrimmage she saw the gun, but
| did not know where 1t came from or who
| fired il. She admitted having had glass
| of beer herself, but was not drunk The
| only trouble she ever heard of her husband
| and Steele ever having took place some
months previous, when her husband order
| ed Steele off some property he was hunting
| over.
| Had Been Drinking.
| In answer to a question from Assistant
| District Attorney Bingham. the witness
| stated Steele had been drinking. but was
| sober enough to know what he was doing.
| She rehearsed the scene in the house, how
| Steele burst open the door and made for her
| husband and was beating him when she
| interfered and tried to separate them.
| Robert Brown of 1401 K street north
| east testified he was with Steele on the
| day of the shooting. They were on the
| way to Washington when Pruitt stopped
| them. They picked up Cheselden on the
| road. He was very drunk. They went to
| Fruits place about l o'clock. Pruitt had
| been drinking. He spoke kindly to Steele
and they were on good terms. He left
early after having four or Ave glasses of
beer. Every one was in good humor when
/ he left. He had never heard of any pre-
vious trouble between Steele and Pruitt.
| William r. Pruitt, H. son of the defend
| ant testified he lived at Congress Heights
and walked to his fathers house on Sunday
to return graphophone he had borrowed
a week previous. While on his way Steele,
who was driving, overlook him and vol
| unteered to take him to his fathers house.
Cheseldine and Brown were drunk, and
while Steele had been drinking he was not
| drunk They wanted him to play the
! graphophone in the wagon, but he declined
| because it would ruin the record. To
| please them he suggested they come TO his
| fathers house If they wanted to hear the
| graphophone. They met his father on the
road. who invited them to come to his
| house and have a glass of beer. He re-
manned at the house half hour. had a
little dinner and left without taking any
| thing to drink Brown left with him and
he heard fussing while there. He left
| before the shooting.
Removal to Hospital.
| Sergeant Anderson of Anacostia testified
to the finding of Steele and his removal to
the hospital. He also told of the finding OF
Pruitt. He said Mrs Pruitt was in an in
| toxicated condition and could not give in
| teilfgent answers to any of his questions
| Pruitt when interrogated said Steele came
| into his house and made a disturbance and
! he shot him. He would shoot any man nm.
| der similar circumstances he said He
| would come out of heaven to do Ii and
| would take his chances with any twelve
men on earth, he said.
DR.. David C. Coleman of the Washington
| Asylum Hospital testified to the treatment
| of Steele at the hospital last Sunday He
sent for the senior surgeon who respond
| ed. and after operating upon the wrist
| which he removed, the surgeon made an
| incision through the abdomen and care
| fully searched for perforation of the
| stomach or intestfnes. He found none and
| the wound was closed.
| Deputy Coroner Glazebrook testified to
| performing the autopsy Upon opening
the abdomen he found two felt wads. q