The San Francisco call., 1909-11-24
'CONbOY'S STATE
SUBJECT OF CLASH
Jumbled Mass of Testimony In
trOduced to Prove Former
Police Captain Sober
Witnesses Testify That Lagan's
Slayer Was Normal at
Time OF Shooting

Adopting the unusual course of call
ing witnesses in behalf of a defendant
to a murder charge on preliminary
hearing before ma gistrate, the attor-
neys for former Police Captain Michael
Joseph Conboy, accused of the murder
of Bernard Lagan, submitted a portion
of their defense before Police Judge
Weller yesterday. The case was not
concluded, however, and will be con-
tinued this afternoon.
1t was evident from the testimony
brought out yesterday that the defense
effort is being made to prove that Com
boy was not drunk, but sober, on the
night of the Lagan shooting, and, sec
ondly, a decided attempt is being
made to discredit the prosecutions
principal witnesses and show that an
attempt was made by Lagan and his
companion to rob Captain Conboy, or
at least that Conboy believed such was
their object.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS GIVEN
A dozen witnesses were called yes
terday anu the result was a badly
jumbled mass of contradictory testi-
mony, out of which practically the only
fact that stands unchallenged is that
it was Conboy who shot Lagan. Near
ly every witness had a version of the
affair which differed in at least one or
two essentials from the testimony of
any other witness. The contradic-
ticns ran from the state of Captain
Conboys sobriety and the sequence of
events Immediately preceding the
shooting to the question of the number
of shots that were fired.
The assertions of several witnesses
previously examined were that Conboy
was very drunk on the night of the
shooting. But, according to those who
were with him during the evening he
had nothing to drink except one high
ball early in the evening, one pint of
beer about 1920 o'clock, and a mere
sip of champagne some time later. To
this was added the testimony of several
policemen who saw him after the
shooting that he was sober at that
time, but cross examination developed
more contradictions everywhere.
TOOK LITTLE LIQUOR
The number and variety of drinks
taken by Conboy during the evening
was testified to by Mrs. Louisa NJ. Muir
head, who was with him until about
1890 o'clock on the night of the shoot
ing, and by Proprietor Adolph Becker
and Waiter Philip Eller of the Odeon
cafe, where he spent the greater part
"
and Becker, Conboy had nothing to
drink between 1870 o'clock and 1
o'clock in the morning except a sip of
champa gne from pint bottle which
was divided among four glasses.
Becker further declared that prior to
the shooting Conboy uttered at least a
half dozen commands to Lagan to stand
back, beginning when the latter was
more than 80 feet away from him.
Several others declared there was only
one such command. Eller the waiter,
said that while in the Odeon Conboy
was feeling pretty good and was In
a jolly way" and that he invited him
to have a drink, old boy" and gave
him his card, but that he was not a
bit drunk.
J. II. Shaw, proprietor of the Com
gress hotel at Ellis and Fillmore
streets testified that he had heard a
quarrel going on while he was in bed
In a room Immediately above where the
shooting occurred. The quarrel con-
tinued for at least three or four min
utes he said before there was threat
to shoot. Then he jumped out of bed
In time to hear three shots. He ex-
planned that there might have been but
two shots, but he was almost sure
there were three. He also heard Con-
boy say, He tried to beat. me and rob
me, and l shot him.
SAYS CONBOY WAS SOBER
r. A Strothers. a United Railroads
inspector, met Conboy few minutes
before the shooting and saw nothing
wrong with him. Harry Leavenworth,
a cigar clerk, was in his room In the
Congress hotel at the time of the
shooting and watched the trouble from
his window He said that after Con-
boy had called Lagan thief and pick
pocket the latter started to return to-
ward the lamppost where Conboy was
standing, demanding to know who
Conboy referred to. Conboy answered
that he meant the other fellow, and
Lag gan said he didn't care who he meant
and was going to punch his head any
way. Then Conboy uttered the single
command to stand back or I'll shoot,
and fired almost simultaneously
r. H. Blumberg. clerk in the cigar
stand at the southeast corner of Ellis
and Fillmore streets, was absolutely
sure that three shots were fired instead
of but two.
Alfred B. Galindo hack driver, told
of taking Conboy and the two police
men accompanying him to the central
emergency hospital after the shooting
and said he noticed nothing wrong
about the defendant.