Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-11
POLICE QUIzZER5
BACKTRAIL SLEUTH
Commissioners Peer Into Record
of TaIamanteS for
Many Years
DASHING BRUNETTE ON STAND
Detective Is Accused of Brutality,
Tampering with Witnesses
and Demanding Money

The police commission went back
number of years into the police MS
tory of +. ]. Talamantes last night
when it continued his trial on serious
charges that have been preferred by
Apolinar Cuevas and Chief Galloway.
The most damaging testimony was
given by Mrs. e. Alvarez who de-
clared she had paid Talamantes $9O
in several installments to assist her In
prosecuting a man who had Wrongeo
her daughter. She said Talamantes
represented he needed the money for
court fees and other expenses. Her
daughter, Mrs. Mary Castro, corrobor-
ated her mothers testimony, declaring
she had seen her mother pay the money
to Talamantes. But all that happened
seven years ago.
Mrs. Elizalda, who is a dashing bru-
nett of Spanish extraction, but with d
choice vocabulary of English slang,
put some ginger into the proceedings
by her recital of alleged brutalitles
she had suffered at the hands OF Iala-
nantes, while employed as chocolate
dipper at Swetland's confectionery
store about a year and a half ago;
She claimed that Talmantes had tried
to fasten on her the crime of larceny
and had managed to put marked
quarter in her purse. She alleges that
he put her through the third degree"
in an effort to make her confess, ana
that he hit her in the face, knocking
filling from her tooth. In subsequent
trial she was acquitted.
FLAW IN TESTIMONY
The defense found one little flaw in
her testimony and Attorney George
Beebe, who is defending Talamantes,
made the most of it. Mrs. Elizalda was
positive that while she was undergo
ing the third degree at the hands or
Talamantes he was smoking a cigar.
She insisted on this point, but it IS
we'll known to Talamantes' friends that
he has not smoked since 1887. The de-
tail was immaterial and did not seem
to have much weight with the COM
mission.
Attorney H. H. Appel was put on
the stand and testified that eight years
ago he defended a Mexican accused of
murder and that several Mexican Wom-
en- testified against the Mexican. He
said a perfect alibi was established
and he learned later from the women
that Talamantes had induced them to
perjure themselves. Subornation of
perjury is one of the charges against
Talamantes.
The only testimony bearing on the
abduction Of the daughter Of A. Cuevas
and the demand alleged to- have been
made on Cuevas by Talamantes for $50
for the return of the girl, which is the
principal charge against the officer,
was given by Mrs. j. Won Wagner, in
spector for the housing commission.
Mrs. Won Wagner made several efforts
to find the girl and was taken into
the confidence Of the distracted family.
She told of having been informed by
the mother of the girl that Talamantes
had demanded money and was shown
a note purporting to have been writ
ten by Talamantes to that effect.
NOTE is INVOLVED
City Prosecutor Guy Eddie, who is
prosecuting the case, has what pur-
ports to be the note in question but
Mrs. Won Wagner said positively that
it was not the one. The one held by
Mr.. Eddie simply makes an appoint
ment for a certain place while the one
she saw at the CueVaS home had more
" rds and was written on different pa
per, Mrs. Won Wagner believes. The
prosecution is trying to establish that
the note it now holds has been sub
stituted for the original one and that
the original demanded money Mrs.
Cuevas ais declared that the note
the prosecutor now has is not the one
that was sent to her.
The police commission realized last
night that it could not make much
headway with the case at evening ses-
sionS and adjourned until next Mon
day morning at o'clock when the
case will be resumed and continue
through the day.