The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-06
DEFENSE SCORES
IN SHEETS CASE
Hanson Makes a Wobbly Finish
for the ProSeCu-
ton.
PARENT LOSES HIS NERVE
DEFENSE WILL ARGUE FOR DIS
MissAL OF CHARGE.

| *<<**<%*+<&%%@+%A&&R4&&&RA
| = Altorney William Newton was y
! brought to the sheriffs office last :
| = hlght and required to furnish $50 \
ponds on the conspiracy charge for y
= which he was arrested last week.
newton ike Sheets and Raleigh was \
| = released on his own recognisance
| = When arrested On account of the y
damaging evidence, however. against 4
? newton, that was disclosed in the =
| y sheets hearing. il was deemed ad- 4
/ = Vlsaole TO place the attorney and al y
= legged go-oetween under bonds to tn =
| y sure his appearance in court.
/ <<<<<t<t<***%%%%%%~%%%%$%&
The state closed its case against Chief
Of Police George A. Sheets on a con-
spiracy charge yesterday afternoon. This
morning Attorneys 5Oren X Christensen
and s. r. Thurman, for the defense, will
argue for a dismissal of the case on the
grounds that the state has not connected
Chief Sheets in any way with the alleged
conspiracy except through the uneOrrobO-
rated evidence of a co-conspirator
just what action the court will take
is problematieal Many prominent attor-
neys who have followed the case closely
are inclined to opposite views as to the
showing made by the county attorney.
Defense Has a Good Day.
|
several victories for the defense In fact
every witness called yesterday by the
state for the purpose of corrOborating
! the evidence of Parent might easily
have been viewed as a witness for the
defense, the evidence in almost very
| instance being more beneficial TO the de-
tense than to the state. The defense was
SUCCESSFUL in having the entire evidence
Of some of the witnesses called stricken
from the record as immaterial. and in
many instances blocked the introduction
n strrarsa NTr~-
confession because of the failure Of the
state to connect il up in such manner
as to bring it home to the chief
The defense had the entire testimony
! OF Miss May Davis. the sweetheart Of
Larry O'Brien, stricken out as inrla-
terials and the state was willing to with
draw Charles Norberg. a, bartender in the
| New State saloon on Second South street
I because he failed TO swear to what was
expected Of him Carl Swain. proprietor
of the Corisnton saloon, called for cor
and by his testimony denied the state
msnt made by w. II. Parent who svore
that Newton had told Swain that Par
rent and his gang we're operating under
police protection.
Other Witnesses Examined.
Attorney N. P. Braffet. who acted as
counsel for the McWhirters. said that
| the chief had asked him why he did not
call an officer and have the two men
whom he saw in the Sanitariurn arrested
bunco gang. E. lie Roy Bourne news
paper man, said that he had often seen
William Newton in the chiefs office bus
no oftener than he had seen other police
court practitioners
On rigid cross-examination. judge
Samuel r. Thurman gained the first APP
probable Roadway in breaking down the
testimony of William H Parent on a
vital point Parent undertook to saw
that the telephone by which Bel talked
to Chief Sheets was in the front Of Hal
lidays drug store on a show case The
defense has discovered that there never
was telephone In the front part of the
drug store and that the only telephones
in the store are at the rear of the pre-
scriptiOn case in the back room of the
store. From that time on Parent wa
vered considerably in his testimony.
Alexander Weakens.
The greatest victory of the defense.
however, came when Attorney Soren X.
Christensen, armed with stenographsc re-
ports of all previous hearings in which the
McWhirters had testified. attacked the
story of Alexander McWhirter and forced
him to change it in a number Of par
ticulars. AS it now stands, McWhirter
says that the chief asked him If he didn't
want Bell arrested when he was with him
in the chiefs office, and that later on
the chief asked him not to leave town
but to remain in Salt Lake for a few
days in an effort &c locate the rob
bers.
During the cross-examinatiOn of Nc
WhirteT ne became very excited and was
visibly affected by the ordeal he was
put through. he volunteered remarks
and attempted to argue with Mr.. Chris
Jensen, who called on the court time
and again to instruct the witness as to
the proper manner of answering the ques-
lions put to him. Alexander admitted AZ
one time that he had told the chief =
"a little lie but qualified 1t by saying:
lit takes rogue to catch a rogue"
sraffet Testifies.
When court opened yesterday afternoon
Attorney NJ. P. Braffet was called 10
The stand. He said that he had bee1
retained by Alexander McWhirter after
the latter had returned from Los An
geles in an effort TO obtain some trace
of the buncd men and if possible recover
the money. He said he talked to Chief
Sheets and Raleigh and expressed
the opinion that Jim Donaldson was con-
them to the Antlers rooming house. where
the landiady furnished them with de-
scriptions Of the bunco men. One Of these
descriptions the witness thought Tailed
with that of Jim Donaldson. The chief
ard Raleigh said they did not think ne
was connected with il, bat the chief
asked him If he knew where Jim Dom
aldson was at that time, and he replied
that he did not
He theT. told the chief and Raleigh
about seeing the bogus policeman at the
he had not called an officer and had
them arrested then and there. Braffcr
said that he did not consider that the
time was ripe
Had "PoIice Protection"
Mrs Mary Peterson, proprietress of =
rooming house at 253 South West Tenn
pie, identified the. photographs Of john
and Larry o Brien. and said that they
formerly lived at her house. She said
they came to her house about the 18th
OF September and again wanted to rent
a room from her. she said that she was
afraid. as they were gamblers. At that
Mrs. Peterson said. Larry replied that
he had the police fixed
William +. Rodigkeit, night manager
of the Vienna cafe, then testified as to
the famous episode the morning after
the McWhirteT robbery, when jim Dom
aidson usec a 1000 bill for napkin and
told Rodigkeit Of beating two Scotchmsn
out of $1,000 in poker game.
Alexander McWhirfer was then recalled
by the state but the defense succeeded
in blocking all Of his testimony on re-
direct examination and he was turned
Continued on Page 2.