Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1912-11-09
GLEASONS ENTER SUIT
AGAINST DETECTIVES
Freed Of Lynching Charge They
Seek Damages for Arrest.
DISMISSED BY GRAND JURY.
Stated That Evidence Was Insufficient
to Warrant Indictment Of Accused
Men.

/ Because of lack OF sufficient evl-
dence TO warrant an indictment. the
county grand jury which for two days
had been investigating the case of
John and Thomas Gleason, of Balti-
more. charged with completely in the
lynching of the negro King johnson,
at Brooklyn last Christmas morn.
yesterday afternoon dismissed the
charges.
The Gleason brothers were re-
leased from the Baltimore city Jail
this morning. They had been in con-
finement for three months, following
the preliminary inquiry before Police
Justice Dennis Claude, of Annapolis.
Suit poceedings against the Burns
Detective agency were Immediately
begun. Alleging that the detectives
were responsible for their falsel ar
rest in connection with the lynching,
two suits were fled in the superior
Court of Baltimore by John and
Thomas Gleason, who claim $25, 600
damages each from the detective
agency.
Attorney Ashman, who filed the
"It is unfortunate that the Glea-
son brother have no other legal way
than a suit for monetary damages
to obtain redress for the outrage
committed against them by the Burns
detectives. My clients told me that
they were innocent, add when the
preliminary hearing was concluded
and heard these detectives testify
felt certain that no grand jury would
indict them on the testimony of the
| detectives"
Chief Shaw, in charge of the local
force of the Burns Detective Agency,
against whom Attorney Ashman has
brought suit, laughed heartily when
questioned with regard to the case.
| why, this is the first intimation
| have received that a suit was being
brought against US. and l might add
right here that it is the biggest joke
of the season." he said. "In fact
have not yet received official infor
nation that the Gleason brothers
| had been released, or that their re-
lease had been arranged for.
| "While we did not get a conviction
before the grand jury of Anne ArUn-
| del county, our evidence was suffi-
cient to warrant one, and in event
of this suit being pressed, which do
not believe it will, we will produce
evidence, which will clear us COM
pletely. Any one who is so foolish
as to think that we would bring a
case before a grand jury, without
first securing sufficient information
to protect ourselves, in event that
body refused to indict the persons
we charge, is very much mistaken"
The dismissal of this notable case
was not great surprise. 1t had been
expected in many quarters owing to
the alleged fiimsiness of the testi-
mony. Detective Shaw, the Dunn
Brothers, Jimmie" and paddy, :"
and Bowers, the so-called DIR. Dore-
mus, astrologer, to whom it was al
legged the Gleasons made confessions,
in his apartments in the Hotel Emer-
son, Baltimore, all of the Burns De.
tective Agency, together with Chief
tom" Irwin, and the other officers
of the Fifth district police force, were
among the witnesses examined by
the jury.
The Burns operatives gathered a
mass of evidence, mostly circum-
stantial, as a result of their asso-
citation with the Gleasons as "dis-
| guised" friends, tending to show
thsir participation in the lynchine
outrage. In dismissing the case Mr..
Nevett Steele, foreman of the jury,
simply stated that the evidence pro.
duced was insufficient to warrant
holding the men further.
Governor Goldsborough was anxious
that the mystery surrounding the
lynching of johnson be solved, and by
use of his special fund he, after c1n.
sultation with Acknowledgement Poe.
called in William J. Burns, head OF
the Burns agency. 1t is said that
the investigation conducted by Burns
detectives cost the State in the
neighborhood of $4,000.
Two months after the Iyuchinp
| Burns detectives began their work.
d. B. Shaw, formerly OF Hancock.
Md, now one Of the Burns district
superintendents. took charge of the
net spread to catch the Gleasons.
Renting shop on Light street, the
Burns men, in various disguises, be.
came quite "chu nmy" with the Glea.
sons and Frank Schwab, brother of
Frederick Schwab. who was shot anc
killed at Fairfield by King johnson.
To Fairfield the Burns men wen,
and conducted junk business. The
detectives for several months min.
gled with the men Of the village,
played in their games and gossiped
IF the lynching of johnson.
At one time the Burns men found
it expedient to use detective in the
euise Of an astrologer in an effort tc
obtain evidence from Thomas Glea.
son. Following a series of rather
spectacular maneuvers, warrants
were issued on August 4 last and tbs
next day the Gleason brothers, Frank
Schwab and Howard Herring. ,
negro, were arrested by detective,
1 on1 foEao "a <ha