The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-25
HAD HANDCUFFS ON
 WHEN FINALLY CAUGHT
One Deputy Says the Negro Pulled a Weapon on Him and Higdon Ex- hiblts Knife Found on
 Court House Lawn.

l the court house, died from his wound yesterday morning at the Hillman hos pital. Just which deputy sheriff fired the shot which wounded the negro has not 1 yet been definitely determined.
 Deputy Sheriff L. R. Dean fired the ] first shot in the court house and Inside Warden Ernest Robinson took a shot : at the negro on Twenty-first street, near 1 the Third avenue corner. Deputy Rob- inson states that another man standing near the alley entrance to the jail took final shot at Moody and followed him down Fourth avenue. This mans iden- l tity Is unknown.
 When the negro dashed out of the 1 sheriff's office he turned down the cor ridor to Third avenue, going out the 1 Third avenue entrance, then around the court house yard to the Twenty-first street entrance, down Twenty-first street to Fourth avenue, crossing Twenty-first l street just before reaching the avenue, ] then down Fourth avenue half block, when he cut across the street and ran in between two houses on the north side 1 of the street. where he was found later.
 Was He Handcuffed?
 There is also some doubt as to whether the negro was handcuffed during the 1 chase. The deputies deny that he was | but persons arriving on the scene a few 1 seconds after the negro was captured i state that he was handcuffed, and no man can be found who will admit that he handcuffed him.
 It was given out by the sheriffs office yesterday that Dean did not shoot at the negro, but that he simply fired down the stairway leading from the first floor to | the basement of the court house in order to frighten the negro James Williams, l who was in the corridor, states that this l was not the case; that Dean shot direct 1 ly down the hall and the bullet went very l close to his head. He also states that Dean stated just after the shooting that 1 he had shot upwards.
 Sheriff Higdon defended his deputies, saying that they were only doing their duty; that Dean shot downward; that the negro was a bad man, and that Deputy Robinson was fully justified in shooting at him. Robinson states that l he shot at the negro with the intention | be drawing a pistol on him. The negro was shot in the back, however, and was facing Robinson when Robinson shot, and it is not believed that Robnsons shot | hit him.
 l It was not known Tuesday night that Robinson had taken part in the shooting; 1 in fact, he stated to an Age-Herald re- l porter Tuesday night that he knew noth- l ing of the affair. Yesterday morning, however, he made report to Sheriff Hig- 1 don on 1t. When asked last night as to why he had said he knew nothing 1 of it the night before he replied that he was simply acting under Sheriff Higdon's instructions not to give out anything in regard to the doings of the sherff's de- 1 partment.
 Taken To Sheriffs Office.
 The negro was arrested by Deputy Sheriff c. T. Helton the deputy knowing l that he was wanted on charge of steal l ing from cars in the Louisville and Nash i vile yards. He took the negro by the 1 sheriffs office in order to look up the warrant for his arrest.
 i Tn the office at the time were Deputies | George Courson and l.. R. Dean and sev- eral negro spotters. The negro made sudden break for the door and down the corridor. Deputy Dean jumped after him | and followed him out of the courthouse, according to Watchman Williams state ment, taking a couple of shots at the ne- gro, firing once just after coming out of the office and the other at the Third ave- l nue entrance.
 As the negro dashed through the yard Deputy Robinson, who had just crossed 1 Third avenue, spotted him. Robinson's l story is as follows:
 Robinson's Account of Shooting. l "I was just a few feet beyond Third 1 avenue when I heard the shots and the cries of Stop himp Just then l spied the negro rushing round the corner of the courthouse inside the yard. I called to him to halt and he replied, The -
 will
 l "As he said this he turned and started toward me, pulling something from his ! pocket and pointing it toward me. l i thought it was gun and I immediately
 shot him. shooting with the intention of
 hitting him. I do not know whether I 1 hit him or not. He made no sign that he had been shot could not tell 1 whether or not he was wounded when
 first spotted him.
 'He had been coming toward me, but
 just after I shot he suddenly turned,
 jumped over the fence at the Twenty
 first street entrance and ran on down
 Twenty-frst street, crossing just before he reached Fourth avenue.
 "A man whom I thought to be Deputy l George Courson was at the entrance Of the alley. I don't know whether he came i out of the alley or from which direction
 he came, or whether he had been stand ing there. The negro started cutting l across the street just as he reached the | alley.
 This man yelled at me, Come on,' and | then took shot at the negro and chased l him down Fourth avenue. He was 1 good half block in front of me as he turned the corner, while the negro was evidently some distance ahead of him. Al ) I turned the. corner a crowd of people