Arizona republican., 1905-10-13
uasURPATIoN OF POWER
The Authority of Buckeye Precinct
 Eucroached Upon.
Buckeye, Ariz., Oct. 10. 1905

i To the Editor of The Republican: | Dear Sir-While it may seem strange 1 that the wayfaring man though a fool | should see the same characteristics in | a county government yet semi-occa- | sionally the unexpected happens even | in the very ordinary walks Of lire | Sunday afternoon Branlio Medina was killed on the public highway thirty l miles southwest of Phoenix. The man ! who is held for the murder, Padro Surito. and who has since confessed to | the crime, attempted to escape south ward to his native country, as he mounted the animal which was former ] Iy in charge Of his victim. It was the sturdy farmers of the Buckeye valley who pursued, captured and disarmed the fugitive from justice. After the news was flashed over the wires of the atrocious crime it was the Buck | eye precinct regularly elected officials who quit their work to respond to the call of duty A coroner's jury was hastily summoned and after the intro duction of evidence the jury rendered a verdict, stating that they had every reason to believe that Pedro Surito was responsible for the crime. Surito was turned over to c. B. Williams, constable of Buckeye precinct and also
 deputy sheriff, to be delivered at the
 preliminary hearing before Justice of
 the Peace c. H. Barkley at Liberty, Monday morning at 10 o'clock As
 soon as the prisoner was captured
 deputies were sent from the sheriff's
 office with a warrant for the purpose of taking the man who had pleaded
 guilty to murder. to Phoenix for trial.
 The excuse offered was that there was
 no stenographer or court reporter in
 the Buckeye district. True enough. stenographers are not generally very
 numerous in rural districts but 1t
 would not take an expert reporter to
 get a trial wherein the defendant en- ters a plea of guilty.
 After the confession of Surito he was
 taken to the Buckeye dam boarding
 house by Constable Williams. No soon CT had the officer and his prisoner reached the place than the chatter ot
 horses hoofs beating a lively tattoo on the desert road could be heard in the distance. The sound became loud CT as the men of the law came nearer. Drawing rein at the ranch house door they demanded in stentorian tones, as the veins in their foreheads stood out like whip cords. Where is the pris- oner? We have a warrant for his ar rest" After being notified that a pre- liminary hearing had been set for Mon day, the two men who court death as a pastime became wrath. The pris- oner was given them but they took him not. Pedro Surito weighs about 90 pounds; the combined weight of the deputies would probably amount to about a quarter of a ton. But the weight of men matters little when the law must be upheld and Surito was shackled. After the clamps were snapped and the man made secure the l representatives of the sheriff's office | began to unlimber their artillery. First | came the Winchesters and shotguns | then the Colts revolvers and four 1 horse team pistols. The men did not l carry knucks They stayed all night | at the ranch house. After the sun | had risen on the following day and l the goblins had disappeared from their | haunts the men with their prisoner | between them drove westward to the | scene of the preliminary trial which it | was finally decided should be held at | Liberty.
 As the two men disappeared with | Pedro in their clutches. sympathizing | friends were heard to say the law is | taking it's course.
 The idea is this: Buckeye precinct l has officials capable, conscientious and | brave, equal to any emergency that | may arise. Pedro Surito would not | have been sentenced by the justice of | the peace. But the case would have | gone legally through the preliminary | stages of development without inter | ference. Why attempt to usurp pow l CT? Buckeye precinct needs other | things worse than imported deputy | sheriffs and advice laden with a desire | to control.
 RESIDENT OF RTTCKEYE