The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-12-20
O'Brien, Former Ely AT.
tOrney, Shoots Woman
and Man at RaWhid.e
JAILED At GOLDF|ELD
Had Recently Been Appointed Dep.
uty District Attorney at Gold
fieId..ReSuIt of CarOuSaI.

Martin O'Brien, known locally as
Mart" deputy district attorney OF
Esmeralda county, formerly a prac-
ticing attorney here, but who left last
summer under shady circumstances,
shot and probably fatally wounded
Bessie Gardner, known as Gold
tooth Bessie" and slightly wounded
"Curley" Williams. waiter, in Raw
hide Tuesday morning at an early
hour He was captured by sher-
ifs posse in the afternoon after a
long chase. The shooting is said to
be the outcome of jealousy on the
part of O'Brien, who was infatuated
with the Gardner woman.
O'Brien with Williams and the
woman had been carousing in the red
light district, throughout the greater
part of the night. At the time the
trouble started the woman was sit
ting on the saloon bar. OBrien
drew his revolver and is alleged to
lave accused her of being false to
him. He then shot at her, the bali
piercing her hip and entering her
groin, infiicting wound from which
she has little chance to recover. AS
he fired a second time at the woman,
who had fallen to the floor, Williams
in an effort to prevent him from
shooting, received the ball in his leg.
A bad but not necessarily dangerous
wound resulted. O'Rrien then made
his escape from the saloon and Sc
curing horse, rode away. After
captured he was closely guarded UNI
Ill yestel day. when lie was taken TO
Goldfield and lodged in jail for safe
keeping, the public temper at Raw
hide being much aroused by his ac-
ton.
O'Brien had, it is said, previous to
the time of the trouble, told the
woman that he would hold her per-
sonally responsible if she proved un-
true to him, but this was not under
stood by herself or friends as a threat
against her life, as they thought he
means to use his official position to
drive her from Rawhide.
The would-be murderer is well but
not entirely favorably known in this
district. Three months ago he left
here after spending some time in Ely
in practice, principally as a police
court lawyer. At the time he left
he was representing Verne Beard,
charged with assault with intent to
kill and held in Jail to await the ac-
ton of the next grand jury. From
this man, it is stated, he obtained
$500 and left for Carson for the stat
ed purpose of securing writ of ha-
beas corpus He got no further than
Reno, however, when he was arrest
ed and held for several weeks. On
this affair local reports vary consld-
erably, some Of them being to the ef-
feet that he was placed under arrest
as the result of trouble he had at
Goldfield, previous to coming here,
and others being that he was merely
intoxicated However that may be.
he never returned to this section, and
so far as can be ascertained his client
never recovered the money he had
paid him as attorney.
OBrien made fair reputation of
a sort while in Ely, being "a good fell
low" but much addicted to drink.
After he left little was heard of him
until the news of his present trouble
reached here yesterday. O'Brien was
deputed as assistant district attorney
of Esmeralda county only a few
weeks ago. He is said to be a grad
uate of Santa Clara college in Cali
fornia and to have practiced his pro-
fession previous to coming to this
state in Oklahoma and Arizona. His
family, said to reside at Alameda,
Cal, are reputed to be people of eX-
cellent standing in their own COM
munity and his father is reported to
have considerable wealth.