The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1906-01-20
SAWSER FOUND GUILTY
Charge Reduced to Misdemeanor
"A. Sasserno Pleads Guilty
1Aid-Sentences Imposed. y

"A. Sasserno Pleads Guilty
1Aia-Sentences Imposed. y
The trial of p. b. Sawser, which oc.
cupied all Of last week in the District
Court in Eureka. was given to the jury
Tuesday afternoon. The arguments by
counsel lasted for four hours aud were
listened to by the largest audience seen
in Eureka at a trial in many years.
The jury was out all night and on
Wednesday morning returned a verdict
Of guilty against the defendant. but
also found hat the value of the goods
embezzled was SAL "a. which reduced
the crime to a misdemeanor.
On the second indictment Sawser, by
consent Of the District Attorney, was
permitted to plead guilty to a misie-
meanor, aud the time for passing judg-
ment in both casos was set for ! o'clock
in the afternoon.
Judge Breen upon the first charge
sentenced Sawser to five months i'm
prisonment in the Eureka County Jail.
aud upon the second imposed q fine of
$3.50. and in default Of payment that he
serve a term in Jail at the rate of one
day for each 81 Of said fine as may re-
main unpaid.
Important Question Raised. ~
The main difficulty with the prosecu-
lion IN Sawser's case seemed to be to
prove which company, the Oregon
Short Line, or the Southern Pacific,
was operating the road between Sparks
and Ogden last October when the thefts
were being committed. This import
ant point was. however. cleared up on
Monday by Assistant Superintendent
Shaughnessy, who testified on the
stand that it was the Southern Pacific.
The jury Reduces Charge.
1t is said that the jury on the first
ballot stood 7 for acquittal and 5 for
conviction and that several ballots were
taken before the compromise to reduce
ths charge from embezzlement to a
misdemeanor was reached. The fol-
lowing composed the jury: "a
Dennis Cooney. John Haddow. Ed
win Hicks, A. p. Tenvoord, George
Young. Alex Mechanics. A. J. Pedlar.
Nelson loft, E j. Phillips, NJ. NJ.
Fletcher. Tom Eccles and Thomas
Casey. ~
j. f. Dennis of Winnemucca and F.
S. Gedney Of E ko were attorneys for
Sawser and Attorney E. s. harrington
Of Elko assisted District Attorney Lew
Rogers in the prosecution.
ga Summary of the Case.
Sawser was warehouse man for the
Southern Pacific at Palisade last Fall
when many goods in transit were lost.
The investigation by the company de-
termined that the freight was stolen
and suspicion was directed TO Sawser.
The latter left Palisade before any ar
rests were made. He was subsequently
in Dakota and started back to
Nevada. but when he got to Ogden he
gave the officers and the law consider
able trouble and was finally e~xtradited.
At bis preliminary hearing in Palisade
he was held to answer to the Grand
Jury, which indicted him on two
counts-irst, for embezzling a half bar
rel of whisky; second. for embezzing
. case Of shoes. The Sassernos at Pail,
SADIE were brought into the case.
With having received stolen
goods, and the Grand Jury found two
against Antoine Sssserno
and ignored the bill against his father.
Sasssrno Pisads Guilty.
The case Of Anone Sasserno on the
Of receiving the half barrel of
whisky from Sawser. was taken up
Tuesday afternoon after Sawser's case
was given to the jury. tli
District Attorney Rogers aud E. S.
associate counsel for the
stated to the Court hat in
opinion the ends of justice would
be subserved by permitting defendant
to plead guilty to a misdemeanor upon
one Of the charges against him and to
dismiss the other. Counsel said that
was quite a young man. that
was his first ~offense, and gave
other mitigating circumstances in sup
port Of their plea for leniency. and
asked that he be punished by a fine aud
not be sent to jail. Sasserno accord
plead guilty and Judge Breen
imposed a fine OF $500, which was paid
by his counsel, O.. B. Henderson of
E ko.f The other Indictment against
Sasserno was quashed aud he was dis
charged w rw@Hm
Z The jurymen we're then discharged
for the term. SD
Return Of Constable Defectioe.
Central Nevada Copper Company VS..
L.