Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-06-25
NOT ENOUGH PROOF
Justice w. H. Schroeder Dis
misses Charges Against
Looney on Motion.
WHEN STATE RESTS CASE
Argument of Attorney Was That
Prosecution Had Failed to Sup
port Claims of Complaint.

Justice Schroeder this noon dis
missed the charges against John
Looney for perjury. The case was
dismissed on the motion of the de-
Tense at the conclusion of the state s
evidence, on the grounds that the
state had failed to prove the charges
4, set forth in the complaint. The COM
plant was made by w. w. Wilmer
ton, who charged Looney with hav-
| ing committed perjury in certain evil
l.ence given before Magistrate Smith
| in the preliminary hearing of charges
against Wilmerton, on Looney'S COM
plant.
State Closes Evidence.
The state did not rest its case un-
| Ill this morning, the last evidence for
1.-THE prosecution having been heard
| last evening. Yesterday afternoon
William Sprague. employed at the
reservoir pumping station, Mrs. w.
| w. Wilmerton, Roy Wilmerton and
Mrs. Ward, a neighbor of the VIII
mertonS, testified. The state sought
| to show by this evidence that Will
merton was at home at the time of
the alleged shooting of Looney and
could not have been the man Looney
declared he saw. Mrs. Wilmerton
and Roy Wilmerton's evidence was
the most important on this point and
both stated that Mr.. Wilmerton was
| in bed at the time. Roy Wilmerton
declared that he heard the officers
knocking on the door when they said
| they first called ut the Wilmerton
home.
Adjournment was taken at >
o'clock and the hearing was resumed
at 1880, when Officers Sidney Pear
| son and John Mcmahon and William
Cox testified. The officers gave much
| the same evidence as in the hearing
of the charges against Wilmerton.
Officer McMahon stated that there
was no sign of life about the Will
merton home when it was first Wis
tied. The state planned to present
| two other witnesses this morning
when the case was taken up again
at 10 o'clock, but after a consulta-
iton it was decided by the states at
torney to rest the case.
Motion to Dismiss.
Immediately S. r. Kenworthy for
the defense made a motion to dis
miss. He held that the state in sup
port of the charge must prove that
Looney's evidence was given after an
oath had been administered to him
| by an officer qualified to administer
an oath that he testified to the things
set forth in the complaint, that these
| things were false and that Looney
| testified wilfully and knowingly to
| what he knew to be false.
Mr.. Kenworthy argued that none
| of these points had ben sufficiently
proved by the state. He argued that
the complaint charged that Looney
1 had testified that Wilmerton was in
| the weeds about 120 feet south OF
| Twelfth avenue at about 1920 the
| evening of June IL and fired al
| Looney. and that the state had failed
TO show that Looney said that Will
| merton shot at him. although he adj
mitted that from the statements OF
Looney as introduced it could readily
| BE inferred that he thought Wilmer
| on shot at him. He also contended
! hat there was no proof that
| t4ooney's evidence, if false, was giver
| Tilfully and with knowledge that il
was false. Harry NJ. Schriver made q
brief argument in opposition to dis
nissal. maintaining that the evidence
vas sufficient TO show probable guilt.