The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1913-07-17
AN ASSASSINATION
TERRIBLE CRIME PLANNED AND
EXECUTED DELIBERATELY.
THE HIRELING IN AMBUSH

THE HlRELING IN AMBUSH
John Gossiot the Victim Of Revenge
ful Retaliation When Called from
His Milk House and Slain-Pierre
Lacrouts, His Alleged Only Enemy,
Had Made Threats.
It were senseless to attempt to|
convey in words how repulsive and
abhorrent is the assassin. There may
be some degree Of palliation when 9
man in the heat of passion or from
great provocation will kill another,
but the assassin by his act must for
felt @very humane consideration
since he is on outlaw, criminal Tor
whom any sympathy expressed or
implied would be mockery OF JUS
tice.
TO the criminal record OF Caddo
Parish has been added another as
sassination, planned and executed
deliberately.
The victim of this assassination
was John Gossiot "a FrenchmarNby
birth. His dairy is situated On the
old Leopard place about two miles
from Jewela near the fork Of the
Greenwood and lake roads.
Wednesday morning at about $3.50
o'clock he was in his milk house.
He answered a call from an outsider
as he appeared near wire fence On
his premises to ascertain who had
called him, he was shot from am
bush. Seven of the bJlets, % calibre
rifle, fired from a shotgun lodged in
the bodyD
The report Of the gun was heard
distinctly by John Pollinger, who
was tending the horses, and by Mrs. Mrs
John Clos, but no attention was
given to the report. 1t was probably
half an hour afterwards that Pol
linger, impressed by the absence OF
/ Gossiot, investigated his where
abouts, when he was horrified on
finding Gossiot outstretched on MS
back dead with an arm outstretched
indicating that had been startled
when he faced his assassin and nat
urally threw out his arm il the at
tltude Of self-defense. At this time
Mrs. Gossiot was not awake.
On discovering this crome Pollln-
ger raised the alarm, and at an early
hour Sheriff Flournoy was at the
| scene and later Deputies Tanner
Hughes and Cawthon visited the
place and obtained such in}ff9ormatlon
as was available. Finally II the af-
ternoon three suspects, Peter Lay
an employe, George Thomas, a negro
and his wife were arrested ane
jailed.
An inquest was held by pr. a. a
/ Herold, coroner, but no facts were
/ developed. The coroner's jury, G. W
Leopard, Sam Tarravello, R. J. Por-
| ter and H. L. Garrard, returned the
| verdict that Gossiot's death resulted
| from wounds inflicted by some part.
unknown.
This was the only verdict by th'
coroner's jury possible, but ther'
has been disclosed information tha
may implicate Pierre LaCrouts, VIII
has gone to France with his family
The information developed is j
substance that Lacrouts had threat
ened Gossiot, who was an unwilling
witness aginst him in a bootleggln
case. It was on GOssiot's evidenc
that Lacrouts was convicted. He ha
been sentenced to pay fine OF S5O
and IL months imprisonment at th'
Parish Farm and 12 months in ad
dition in default Of payment. HI
case was appealed. His bond is fixe'
I at 81 500 with A. Queries as surety
. Lacrouts' ennity was aggravate
by Gossiots's refusal to buy La
crouts' dairy, for which he had dc
manded an extravagant price, ar
instead purchased Leopard's plac
! The deceased was aged 30 year
I He had resided in New Orleans be
l iDre his removal to Shreveport. i
I was industrious, and from his sa,
ings had accumulated enough none
4 with which to go into the dairy bus
mess IN Shreveport. He was laN
abiding ind had the respect aI
good will of all who knew him. /
was married seven years. His wide
{ aud several children mourn las u
/ timely end. The body, prepared +
| burial at Weflman's parlor, will
! taken on the evening train to Ne
/ Orleans for interment.
II Possibly in this case, as in .,.hs'
II Il. rl01, -