The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-07-29
C. {. COONS STILL
HELD WITHOUT BAIL
Friends Are Making Ar
rangements, However, to
Come to His Aid.
DOUBT EXISTS AS TO HIS GUILT
Defense Charges Plot to Railroad
Contractor Into the Peni-
tertiary.
DOUBT EXISTS AS TO HIS GUILT

Up to late hour this afternoon c. E.
Coons had been unable to secure bail,
but effort on the part of his friends
who believe him innocent, Is being
made to secure bail for him and he is
being held in jail in Hammond instead
of taken to Crown Point.
Charles E. Coons spent sIeepIess
night in the city jail and this morning
protests his innocence and said this
morning that he would rather have
n leg or arm cut off than be guilty of
such a heinOuS crime.
He said that he surprised he
did not know what to do when he sat
in the courtroom and heard his own
daughter testify to the things she did.
He said he could not understand it and
he wondered what Influences had been
brought TO bear to induce her to say
the things she did.
Mr.. Coons said that he was indiffer-
ent about the matter Of furnishing
bail. He declared it was up to his
daughter If she wanted him to go to
jail he would go and stay there until
he was vindicated.
He said that some day she would be
sorry she had preferred the charges
against him. Fred Crumpacker, the at
torney for Mr.. Coons, said this morn
ing that he was convinced that his
client is innocent.
Thinks He Is Victim of Plot.
Everybody takes it for granted that
a man charged with such an offense
must be guilty said Attorney Crum
packer. and he is denounced on all
sides, but before we get through with
this case we may be able to show that
he was the victim of a plot to send
him to the pentitentiary."
Attorney Joseph Conroy is confident
of his ability to send Coons over the
road He is as convinced of his guilt
as he could possibly be, and he is go
ing to prosecute the case with all Of
the energy he possesses.
One of the most effective bits of
evidence he expects to use is the state
ment of Miss Geib that she went to
Coons and told him of her plight and
said: IF you don't do something for
me I will go and jump into the lake"
He also places a great deal Of sig
nificance in the bottle of unlabeled
medicine which he found DR.. Lorenzo
Jackson had prescribed for Miss Geib
when she found that she was not in
a normal condition.
Attorney Conroy expects to have the
medicine analyzed and he expects It
to show what the medicine was really
intended for. Then there is the fact
that both Miss Geib and friend had
keys to Coons' room in the hotel where
he boards. This fact is expected to
have a bearing on the case.
Preparing for Big Trial.
The attorneys for both sides are pre-
pairing for one of the greatest Grim
inal cases which has ever been tried
in Lake county and it is expected that
there will be surprises on both sides.
The Coons case was the talk of the
town last night and all of the details
of the preliminary hearing were gone
over again and again. The hearing
lasted practically all day, and this is
very unusual in a case Of the kind.
Attorney Crumpacker says that there
was a great deal of testimony intro.
| duced which he thinks could have been
excluded if he had made a fight to
have it kept out, but he realized that
his client was sure to be bound over
in the face of theevidence, and so he
decided to make his fightl ater on.
1t must be admitted that there are
two sides to the story and that there
is evidence to support the contention
| that Mr.. Coons is innocent