The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-01
Admits Shooting Patten, bu
Says He Did So to Save His
Own Life.
STATE EXAMINES EIGHT
WITNESSES AND REST
King Outlines Prisoners ID
fense in Opening Statement
to the Jury.

With the examination Tuesday After
noon of eight witnesses for the proso<
cution. the state rested in the casc n
William Jeffries. alias "Speedyp Jsf|
fries, on trial for the alleged murde,
of Thomas Patten in the Heidelbert
saloon shortly after midnight Aupus%
), 1910, and Samuel A. King made hi~
opening statement to the jury. The de
fense will plead self defense and Wit
nesses will be introduced, according "a
Attorney King, TO show that Jeffric%
shot Patten TO save himself
The case was opened with e. O|
Leatberwood, assistant district attorney.
making his statement to the jury. Two
morning, William T.. Murphy, a bar
tender at the saloon when The shoof-
ing occurred. aud Harry c. Gilmore
waiter
Murphy was the first witness called.
His TESTIMONY largely concerned cir.
cumstances connected with the Shoot
ing of Patton. According TO his fes..
timony, he did not see the shot fired|
or the man who fired it. He testified
however, that he had seen both prinl
cipals in the affair earlier in the even
ing and that at Jeffrics s first wish
to the saloon he had been informed that
hc was wanted upstairs.
Hears Shot; BUSHES to Patten.
Gilmore, the next witness called, tes|
titled that he had been waiting on the
table at which Patten and four others
were seated, drinking. He left The
table, according to his testimony, and
had been gone about ten seconds when
he heard shot fired He rushed bach
aud found Patten lying, apparently life.
less, with blood rushing from wound
in his check. The man who fired the
shot, according 10 Gilmore, had gone. r
The defense will use the statement of
Murphy to substantiate other testimony
which it proposes to introduce TO show
that Jeffries was called upstairs bv
Patten. who abused him before The
shooting occurred in the saloon
Among other witnesses examined FOR
the defense were John ID, Hogan, q
night watchman; Police Officers HaY.
old D. Sleater and Glen A. Peterson.
Captain of Detectives Riley NJ. Beck
stead, Stanley A. Hanks. acting coro.
ner at the time of the shooting, and
Deputy Sheriff Andrew Smith.
Patrolman Peterson testified relative
to Jeffries' s running from the saloon
and his apprehending him and later let.
ting him go after he had told Peterson
that there was trouble in the saloon and
he did not want TO get mixed up in it-
Peterson also testified relative to the
nature of the wound and the finding
of the gun in the saloon,
Patrolman Sleater testified relaiive
TO allowing the Kelly woman TO take
Jeffries home after she had met him
-
woman is alleged to have been the
cause of the tragedy, it being claimed
that the first trouble was caused by
Jeffrles taking her away from PAT.
ten,
Kings Statement.
Attorney King declares that he will
have at least three of the men who
sat al the table on the fatal night on
the stand for the defense and that tesl
timonv Will be introduced rs to the as
sault which is alleged to have occurred
when Jeffries was called from the sa.
loon.
The defense has thoroughly gone over
the record of the dead man for several
years before his death. and, according
to John j. O'Connor, chief of police Of
st. Paul, Mimi, Patten had beA arr
rested or convicted fortythree times
for robberes and the like. The letter
from the chief of police of st. Paul also
states that Patten was wanted in Tor
onto, New Orleans, Portland. San
Francisco, st. Paul, Milwaukee, Dallas,'
st. Louis and New York In these cities
he had operated under a dozen differ
ent aliases, among them being Tim
Churchill, Harry Churchill ANDY
Bowen, Harry Harris, II. J. Mack, Tom
Williams, George Abbott, George
Adams, Tim McGraw and "Little|
Tim -
Among the exhibits Tuesday was
the rogue S gallery portrait of Patten
from St Paul, where he broke. jall
while under arrest charged with .
$4,000 pickpocket theft while entering
St. Paul on train.