The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-12
SHEETS TRIAL
STARTS MONDAY
SANS PARENT
Star Witness for State Against
Former Police Chief Miss
ing for Months.
LOOFBOUROW IGNORANT
OF CROOKS RELEASE
BELL, ANOTHER OF THE CON-
SPIRAToRS, is IN JAIL AND
WILL PROBABLY TESTIFY.

William H. Parent. the star witness
for the state against former Chief of
Police George A. Sheets, will not be in
Salt Lake to testify against Sheets when
the trial opens next Monday morning. He
left Salt Lake on November last and
his prcsentw hereabouts is unknown. 1t
is understood that before Parent left
Salt Lake he told several persons that
he did not intend to return for the trial
Parent was one of the leaders of the
buncO gang that fleeoed and robbed Alex
ander and William New nirter out of
over $4,000 on September 10. 1905 He pre-
tended he was policeman. and as such.
searched the brothers McWhirter and took
from them over $500 in addition to some
S2O00 already taken from the two Scotch
men in an ailegsd poker game
District Attorney Frederick c. LOOfbOu-
row, when asked last night if he knew
where Parent was. said
As far as / know. Parent is in the
county Jail
well. was he not released on his per-
sOnaI TecOgniZanceR"
Not to nay knowledge
Sheriff c. Frank Emery. I'm response to
the same question said:
i do not know where Parent is He
Is not in the county jail. He was re
leased on his own recognizance and is not
in my custody, legally or otherwise. Ny
understanding is that he is not in the
city"
Parents Confession.
Parent was arrested in Denver some
thing over a year ago by Sheriff Emery.
He was brought to Salt Lake. and on the
way, through the advice of his attorney.
Judge Hilton. and probably because Of
inducements held out to him by the state.
he made a full and complete confession
of the entire ROBBERY to County Attorney
Willard Hanson and Sheriff G. Frank
Emery. The confession was written out
and signed by Emery. In this confession
Parent gave all the details of the rob
berry. duplicating George Sheets. then chief
of police, in this and other crimes and
sWindles.
a complaint was sworn out for George
Sheets. George Raleigh. then chief of
detectives; Attorney William Newton. Ro-
the members of the gang that robbed the
McWhirters. charging them with criminal
conspiracy. At the Dreiimina y hearing Of
Sheets, Parent testified 10 the alleged
dealings he had had with Sheets and told
a story of the many crimes with which
he had been implicated. Sheets was
bound over to the district court and an
information filed. The information was
declared by Judge Armstrong to be defec-
tive. since it merged felony with a mis-
demeanOr in the charge, and as a result
il was set aside. An appeal was made
by the state to the supreme court but
the appeal was dismissed.
Parent Locates Bell.
previous one was almost Immediately filed
against Sheets and is still pending in the
district court. The criminal conspiracy
against the others of the alleged Of
Tenders have been dismissed While the
Sheets case was pending in the courts.
Parent was arraigned before Justice
Bishop on charges of grand larceny and
robbery and released on his own recOgniz-
ance. He went to Denver almost imme-
diateIy and succeeded in locating Bell an
other of the cOnspiratOrs in Kansas CITY.
where he was arrested by Deputy Sheriff
Eddington.
In the meantime Jim Donaldson, tire
first Of the buncO gang to be arrested,
was tried and convicted of grand Larceny.
His conviction was largely due to the eri-
dence of Parent. Donaldson was sen
fenced to ten years in the penitentiary.
His case was appealed to the supreme
court and is still pending.
Following DOnaldsOn's conviction. both
Bell and Donaldson confessed to their part
in the robbery and George Sheets was
once more arrested This time the charge
against him was that of accepting a bride.
AT his preliminary hearing on this charge
Parent and Donaldson testified against
him. Just before the hearing closed the
defense made an unsuccessful effort TO
have Justice Bishop eniOined from decid-
ing the case, on the ground that the charge
of criminal conspiracy was at that time
in the district court and that the case
was identical with the one then before
the justice. The court ruled adversely
Continued on page 2.