The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-08
BAIL FOR SELLERS
SLAYER OF ". D. SYKES IS ALLOW
 ED BAIL.
Participant fn Coffee County Tragedy Pleads Guilty and Presents Strong Testimony at the
 Preliminary Hearing.

Enterprise, Aug. 7-(SpeciaI. .)-The preliminary trial of Clifford Sellers, charged with murder of W. D. Sikes, was held beofre Justices A. S. Helms, W. D. Dawkins and M. W. Helms, and Sellers was allowed ball in the s1m of S2,500.
 Much interest was manifested In the trial. and the weight of sentiment was plainly in favor of the defendant. At times during the progress of the trial this interest was at fever heat. so that standing room in the court room was not available.
 M. sollie of Ozark, and c. ". Sim mons represented the defendant, and o. c. Doster, Jr., represented the State. The case was hard fought throughout.
 The plea of the defendant was not guilty, and not guilty by reason of in- sanity, and there was much evidence offered in support of this plea as well evidence stated that his wife had told him prior to the killing that Sellers had made improper proposals to her.
 The facts of the killing, stated brief ly. shows that Slkes was working a crew of men for W. E. Henderson, and at the time was working out the crop of Sellers. a tenant of Mir. Hen- derson. by agreement between them and Sellers. There was a misunder- standing about the work ,and Sellers told Sikes on Monday evening before the killing not 10 come on the place any more and work the crops, and if he went there to worK the crops again he would kin him.
 A peace warrant was sworn out for Sellers Monday evening, and on Tues day morning following ". J. Ham, the deputy sheriff went to Sellers farm to execute the warrant. Sikes and the crew of men started back to the place that morning. and Sikes got in his buggy with Mir. Ham, and went to the house of Sellers at the request of the officer, to hold the horse for him until he could make the arrest. The deputy went Into the house and told Sellers he had warrant for him, and Sellers said, "Sikes has sworn a ~-~- lie on me-" Whereupon the deputy told him to get ready to so to town with him. Then Sellers rose and secured his gun which was on a rack above the door, near where he was sitting. tnd turning around started for the back door and said, 'IlI kill the --z rascal" Then sellers's wife screafled. and sikes jumped out of the buggy and started to the rear of the house. As Sikes reached the east end of the house the deputy said, Look out Mir. Sikes," and about that time Sellers had reached the point where he could see Sikes around the corner of the house from the back door, and he levelled his gun and shot SiISes in the abdomen. They were about eight feet apart when the gun fired.
 The deefendant claimed In his tes- timony that when he met Slkes he was trying to draw a pistol from his right hip pocket, and there was tes- tinnony offered to show that Sikes was not trying to draw a pistol, but had his hands down by his side. small derringer pistol was taken from the pocket of Sikes sometime after the shooting. After the shooting Sellers went away and was arrested about four miles from his home in the evening.
 The Sellers case makes four murder eases on the court dockets of Coffee County for disposition.