The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-05
FATHER AND SON ARE HELD Await Action of Grand
 Jury. ACCUSED OF NEGROES DEATH Russells Are Placed Under Bond
 of $500 Each. Many White and Negro Witnesses Tess tify at Preliminary Hearing. Thomas Farmer, Co-Defen-
 dant is Released.

q yesterday evening made bonds or sooo each for their appearance pe1ore the grand jury which will meet the hrst Monday in February, on a' charge oi having killed Harvey Toles, hesto' Thomas Farmer, young man. nelsh bor of the Russells, who was arrested with them on the charge, was ois- missed from custody.
 The Russells father and son, were held in $500 bond each by Justice B. lC. Young after a preliminary hearing which began at l o'clock yesterday at- ternoon, and continued until after tWl- light. The Russells readily made the required bonds. They will return 10 their home in Beat 15, near Grady, this morning. Young Farmer was dls- missed from custody by direction or so- licitor g. H. Dent, who appeared with Assistant Solicitor w. T. Seibels TOT the State.
 Bonds for the Russells were signed by A. A. Stoddard and R. c. Whatley' neighboring farmers of the two men. Harvey Toles was found dead Christ mas day on the front gallery of a house occupied by Anna Guice, negress near Grady. The negroes had been having holiday celebration, and there had been some shooting. When the smoke nao cleared away, Toles was found lyihg on the gallery with gInshot wound through the head.
 An inquest was held by w. Boze- man, justice of the peace for Beat l6' acting as coroner He returned a yer dict that Toles was killed by unknown persons.
 Several days ago, Sallie Toles. mother of the dead negro, came to Montgom- cry and swore out a warrant. oelore Justice Young, accusing s. J. husseii' his son, Tillman J. Russell, and Thomas Farmer a young white man, Of hav- ing killed her son. The warrant was \ executed by Deputy Sheriff Claude Mi zell, who brought the three wnite men to the county jail Wednesday, Testimony Is Contradictory. The preliminary trial yesterday drew many persons from the Grady neigh borhood to Montgomery. Nearly all inc witnesses for the State were ne- groes. All the witnesses for the ac- cused men were whites. Cme of the lawyers in the concluding argument told Justice Young that he was 10 de- eide whether to believe the white VII nesses or the black witnesses. Theii testimony was almost diametrically op- posed.
 The defendants were represented os 1 two lawyers, and many witnesses were l
 prove that bad feeling existed between the Russells and the negroes and thal the white men went to the house ol l Anna Guice where the negroes hac gathered, with the intention or making trouble. Solicitor Dent undertook te show that Tillman Russell, finding Harvey Toles lying drunk on the 1lool of the front gallery, deliberately sho' him to death. One of the States wlt' nesses. Savannah Toles, cousin or tht dead man, testified that this was the manner in which Toles met his death
 The theory of the defense was tha the Russells were sing along the road in front of the house occupied bS the Guice woman, when Sylvester liar
 ris. a negro, shot at Tillman Russel | who returned the fire, and that Iole'
 was killed by the shotgun of Harris. ,,
 The three defendants, s. J. Russell IT. J. Russell and Thomas Farmer were examined, their testimony agree ing as to details. Tillman Russell tes
 tified that on Christmas day he Jeff his home in company with his father and Farmer, to go hunting, having
 made an engagement with a neighbol named Dudley, whose house was then objective point
 says Negro shot First.
 Tillman Russell was ahead or th' party. and he had a controversy witt the negroes at the house of the wo man Guice Re acing his steps, h' met his father and Farmer, and tolC the elder Russell about the controversy
 He said his father replied that the ne
 groes were drunk and he was to pa! no attention to them. Then he got oI a horse and started up the road Witi | Farmer walking with him.
 When they reached the Guice house
 two negroes came out of the or eaci | carving a shotgun. One of the ne
 groes was Sylvester Harris. The oth
 CT was a stranger. Young Russell sait he jumped from the horse and ran be hind the house. Just as he passed th' corner of the house, Harris shot at hin and turned to run. Young Russell wht had a shotgun, swore that as Harris
 turned to run, he fired one me a
 him, but he escaped injury and dis appeared.
 A few minutes after this eXchahSt
 of shots, the body of Harvey Toles wal
 found dead on the front gallery th' load of a shotgun having torn ava!
 part of his head.
 Young Farmer, on cross examination admitted that bad feeling had existed
 between the Toles family and himself
 Each of the four lawyers mad
 speeches at the conclusion of the tes timony, and Justice Young then an Inounced that as there was a doubt al
 to the guilt or innocence of the Rus sells he would hold them for investi
 gation by the grand jury.