Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-10
ROLLA ROBE
ON TRIAL
FOR LIFE
WIFE SUPPORTS HUSBAND IN
FIGHT FOR LIBERTY
TOT PLAYS ABOUT FATHERS
KNEE IN COURT
Large Crowd Follows First Days Pro-
ceedings in Trial of Man Alleged
to Be Aecomplice of
MeskiI

En1itn VI ouPtAAOA NNoA
yesterday and the hearts of two of them
were filled with the fear that men and
women experience when the future looks
dark and when the hope that makes bur
dens light becomes an uncertainty. The
third person was a baby, a f-year-old
girl. whose large dark eyes shone with
the child love for a parent as the father
walked into the crowded chamber and
took his seat; the father charged with
the joint perpetration OF the greatest
crime OF which man can DC Suily-
that of murder.
Rolla Robe is on trial for his life and
thai he fully realizes the awfulness of
his position was made evident yesterday
as he sat before the twelve men who Will
decide bis fate and listened to the Wit
nesses testify concerning the facts sur
rounding the murder of Patrick IL. Lyons
on the night of November 80 last. I'm
like Daniel f. Meskil, against whom a
verdict of murder in the first degree was
returned on Wednesday for the same
crime, Robe, even while he held his baby
ON his knee, took the greatest interest
in everything that took place. While
the jurymen were being selected ne
watched the face of each man intently
and his restless hands beat a nervous
tattoo on the table.
AS witnesses told of the circumstances
attending the robbery of the winery on
Central avenue, which occurred just prior
10 the death of Patrolman Lyons, Robe
frequently moistened his parched lips
and he moved uneasily about in the chair,
which seemed all too large for his slender
body.
Wife Restraints Grief
Behind him sat little brown-eyed
woman, whose emotions of grief and dis
tress were with difficulty restrained.
Mrs Robe is but Is years old, but the
mental strain she has undergone since
the arrest of her husband the night OF
Lyons death has given to the rather
attractive face a mature appearance in
strong contrast with her years.
At the hour set for the beginning of the
trial the court room, as has been the
case for the three preceding days, was
crowded to its capacity, but the faces
i'm many instances were different. While
during the Meskil trial the gathering APP
peared to be made up of persons imbued
with curiosity the countenanceS of the
hundreds who watched the proceedings
yesterday showed a friendly interest and
a compassion for the young prisoner,
while sympathy for the little woman and
.sai::.s infant was marked in every face.
1t was not until 3 o'clock in the after
noon that a jury was secured, the de-
Tense exhausting all but three Of the
peremptory challenges allowed by law.
As Robe entered the court room at 10
O'Clock in the morning his blue eyes
lighted up when he saw the wife and
baby from whom he has been separated
for more than month. He greeted his
wife lovingly, and as he sat down the
child reached out her arms, while an
expression of infantile affection shone in
her eyes.
Reaching out his arms the prisoner |
caught up the child and strained it to |
his breast, the little one nesting closely |
while her arms encircled her fathers |
neck in a fond embrace.
Robes Appearance Neat
Robes face was clean shaven and his !
rather long light hair was combed with |
care over the narrow but rather high |
forehead. He wore dark blue serge |
suit which hung rather loosely on his !
small frame, and a dark tie was neatly |
tied under the collar of his white flannel |
shirt.
Before the proceedings began the crowd |
at the north side of the room became so
dense that the bailif was instructed by |
the court to clear that part of the cham
ber. An officer was stationed at the |
door, instructed to keep everyone out who
was not entitled to admittance, and this |
y
The selection of a jury began at 10:30 |
o'clock, and it became evident from the |
outset that Robes attorneys, Frank ]. |
Spring and Arthur l.. Veitch, would |
carry on a strenuous fight in behalf of |
their client. At o'clock the following |
twelve men had been chosen to consider |
the evidence:
ldnson, Jacob Brunjes, w. c. Richards, |
Rudolph Brunner, Charles M. Parker,
John p. Hackett, A. A. Weymouth, Jo-
siah Harshman and r. H. Pinney.
District Attorney Fredericks was again
assisted by City Prosecutor Fleming in |
the prosecution as in the MeskI trial,
and the latter read a statement of the |
circumstances of the crime with which |
Robe is charged.
All witnesses in the case were excluded
from the court room, with the exception |
of Mrs Robe and Detectives Rich and |
Roberds, who were permitted to remain |
on request of both sides.
First Witness Called
The first witness CT the day was Police |
Capt. A. J. Bradish, who was called, |
together with DR.. Joseph B. Tanner of |
the receiving hospital, to establish the |
death of Patrolman Lyons. Both wit
nesses testified as they had in the Meskil |
case.
Arthur Grosser. proprietor of a whole |
sale liquor house at 1404 Central avenue
told of the robbery of his place on the |
night of November 30. He said a masked |
man entered the store about 10:40 o'clock |
thai night and while he was being held |
up a second man walked behind him and
opened the cash register, from which he
took between $22 and $23.
He pointed Robe out as the man who
had taken the money, and as he did so
the prisoner bit his lower lip nervousIy, |
He watched the witness intently and ap-
parently lost no word of the testimony.
Robe, said Grosser, carried no revolver
and did not utter word while the rob-
berry was taking place.
A number of articles introduced In the
Meskil triel, including keys and money
said to ha been taken from the Grosser
store; the canvas sack with the name
Fay" printed thereon, the revolver with
which the killing Of Lyons is said TO
have been committed and the bullet taken
from the patrolmans skull. were then
placed in evidence and marked as ex-
hfbits.
Csrosser said he did not know the un-
masked man at the time of the robbery. |
but said he had seen Robe at the city |
jail the same night and knew him TO be /
the same person.
Says Robber Was Nervous
did he look as If he was i'll ut the
time of the robbery" asked Attorney
Spring.
mo, he seemed slightly flushed and a
little nervous" said the witness