The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-02
FOR CAPITAL CRIMES
THOSE INDICTED IN SELMA ARE
 ARRAIGNED.
Case of Walter Lawrence, Charged With the Murder of Fl. Beimer,
 Set For. February 13. Selma News.
Advertiser Bureau,

Advertiser Bureau, Selma, Feb. 1. This afternoon Walter S. Lawrence and s. Williams, Henry McElrain and Callie Martin, negroes, were arraigned in the City Court on charges of murder and their trials set. Lawrence, who is charged with the murder of H. Bei- man, will be tried Monday, Feb. 13. McElrain and Martin were indicted Jointly. Their case and the Williams case will come up Feb. 16.
 After the arraignment of the pris- oners, the court drew the names of 1 the following men from the box to form a special jury to try the murder cases: Enos R. Stewart, Frank s. Brown, J. F. Walker. c, ". Billingsley, O. Chrissman, W. H. Craig, Charles G. Tissier and J. c. Converse of this city and H. B. Reeves, John Packard, R. J. Stallworth. W. NJ. Tate, J. B. Rives, J. D. Jacob, c. H. Reed. I. Yer non, W. M. Weaver, J. E. Terry, J. w., Dakins and Thomas E. Knight from surrounding towns and country. The court ordered that copies of in- dictments and list of jurors be served.
 The case of the State against Monroe Gardner and Dan Collins was tried in the City Court this morning and sub mitted to the jury at 12 o'clock after examination of witnesses lasting sew eral hours. Gardner and Collins were charged in the indictment with grand larceny. but the prosecution admitted that only a case of petty larceny was clearly made. out. They were accused of the theft of nearly a half bale of cotton from house on tho plantation of a MT. Watts, few miles from Selma.
 The case was started as soon as the court could settle down to business after convening at o'clock this morn ing. A negro named Smith. who Igrew the cotton alleged to have been stolen by Gardner and Collins and one or two preliminary witnesses were the first to testify.
 The indictment says that the cotton was stolen from the house Dec. IS, 1908. and the defense holds that on that night one defendant and others were coon hunting and didn't go in two miles of the house. Several wit nesses coroborated that testimony and said that they caught two big coons before o'clock the next morning. The other defendant, according to the tes- timony, was several miles distant. The alibi was established by three wit nesses and refuted by two.
 Judge Mabry delivered an interest ing charge to the jury after Solicitor Thompson and Attorney Mallory had made their arguments to the jury. He charged the jury that 1t could find either of the defendants or both guilty of grand larceny or petty larceny ao- cording to It's construction of the tes- timony and evidence in the case. and that 1t could find one guilty and the other innocent under the law. Be- cause the indictment was against both was no reason that the jury should convict both If there was a reasonable doubt about the guilt of one and no doubt about the guilt of the other in the minds of the jufymen, said the court. Gardiner and Collins were found guilty and fined $1O0 each.
 This afternoon two cases against Pearly Tate were mol pressed. Jerry Burden was tried on a charge | of burglary and was found guilty. He was found guilty of stealing merchant disc from a railroad car, which he had forcibly entered.
 Frank Stewart was convicted of breaking into the store of Stewart and l Fulner. sixteen miles from this city, and stealing a gun and other articles. Neither Burden nor Stewart was rep presented by counsel.