Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-21
INDICTMENTS DO
NOT HOLD G0OD
GRAND JURY CASES FAIL TO
STICK
Or. Freedman and n. C. Vignes Re-
leased Because of Technicalities
and Lack Of Sufficient
Evidence

With the dismissal of the charge OF
manslaughter against DR.. Charles
Freedman of the receiving hospital and
the acquittal of Vignes yesterday after
noon by jury in department seven of
the superior court the last of the
criminal indictments filed by the recent
county grand jury were disposed of,
every one of them having failed to
hold good either on trial or technical
ity.
When the grand jury convened the
indictments began TO appear. Vignes
was one OF the first to be indicted and
yesterday he was acquitted of the
charge against him. Motorman Nc
Reynolds of the Redondo line. who had
charge of one of the cars in the fatal
accident of August 49, was the next to
come under the ban of the Jurors. He
was arrested and taken before Justice
Pierce for trial. but before the case
was even set for a hearing the grand
Jurors reconsidered their action and
drew down the indictment against the
unfortunate employee of the railroad.
Indictment Slow
Conductor Fred. WHITE, deemed di-
rectly responsible for the accident, was
also indicted, but so tardily that when
the indictment warrant came to be
served Witte had left the country and
has not since been heard of.
1t was not long thereafter that
mysterious indictment was issued
which did not bear publication until
some weeks later, when Anton Besold
was arrested in Washington, charging
him with the murder of his wife,
Glade Besold.
Besold was brought back to Los
Angeles on the warrant, but the dis
trict attorney had no idea of allowing
as important case as the Besold case
to be attacked by any technicalities
which might arise because of the draw
ing of the indictment and he promptly
dismissed the charge filed by the grand
Jury and had Besold arraigned in the
regular way before Justice Young of
the township court. AS result Besold
is about to be tried in the superior
court, but it is no fault of grand jury
that he is there.
The indictment against Aurelia
Scheck. the self-confessed accomplice
to the horrible murder of her husband,
Joel Scheck, by Ernest G. Stackpole,
now under life sentence, was the next
to be filed. Mrs. Scheck had been
promised liberty or immunity from
If she would take the stand
and testify against Stackpole, her
former lover, and the man for whom
she alleged she opened the door at
night that he might enter her home
and kill her husband.
Freedman Released
The district attorney had promised
from punishment on the
murder charge, but a perjury charge
relative to the coroners inquest was
taken before the grand jury and an
issued. Mrs. Scheck through
her attorneys attacked the indictment
and it was dismissed and under a
storm of protest of public sentiment
she went free.
DR.. Charles Freedman was the last
man to be indicted. 1t was alleged
that he had been guilty of criminal
negligence in that he sewed up wound
n the abdomen of Francisco Martinez
n a careless manner, which was al
eyed to have caused Martinez's death.
The Mexican had been stabbed in an
ARRAY in Sonoratown and so horribly
cut that there was no hope of saving
mis- life. DR.. Freedman patched the
wound as rapidly as possible and hur-
ried the stricken man to the county
hospital.
1t was alleged that he had hurried
through the temporary operation in
order TO catch his last car at mid
night.
DR.. Freedman scorned all suggestions
to fight the case on a technicality and
demanded a trial Yesterday, however
McComas Of the district at
torney's Office admitted in court that
the evidence was insufficient TO con-
Vict and Freedman was DISCHARGED