The Caucasian., 1913-07-20
AN ASSASSINATION
TERRIBLE CRIME PLANNED AND
EXECUTED DELIBERATELY.
THE HIRELING IN AMBUSH
John GOSsiot the Victim Of Revenge
full Retaliation When Called from
His Milk House and Slain-Pierre
Lacrouts, His Alleged Only Enemy,
Had Made Threats.


Lacrouts, His Alleged Only Enemy,
Had Made Threats.
II were senseless to attempt tc
convey in words how repulslVe ant
is The assassin!There may
be some degree of palllatlon when
man in the heat Of passion or from
great provocation will kill another,
bat he assassin by his act must ttN-
every humane consideration
since he is OH outlaw. a criminal for
=. nom 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 Frenchman by
birth. His dairy is situatsta On the
old Leopard place about two miles
from Jewella near the fork OF the
Greenwood and lake roads.
"Wednesday morning at about 3:3O
O'Clock he was in his milk house.
He answered 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 bullets, % calibre
rifle, fred from shotsupasS}odsed upasS} in
the body. ~
The report of the gun was heard
distinctly by John Pollinger, who
was tending the horses, and by Mrs.
John Clos, but no attention was
given to the report. It was probably
half an hour afterwards that Pol
'linger, impressed by the absence OF
Gossiot, investigated his where
abouts, when he was Mortified Oh
finding Gossiot outstretched On bis
back dead with an arm outstretched
indicating that had been startled
when he faced his assassin and nat
urally threw out his arm in the at
titude 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 information
as was available. Finally in the af-
ternoon three suspects, Peter Lay
an employe, George Thomas, negro
and his wife were arrested AMI
Jailed.
/ An inquest was held by DR.. A. A
! Herold, coroner, but no facts Wer'
developed. The coroner's jury, G. w
Leopard, Sam Tarravello, R. ]. Por-
/ ter and II. L. Garrard, returned ,tht
verdict that Gossiot's death resulted
from wounds inflicted by some part.
unknown.
This was the only verdict by tn
coroner's jury possible, but Their
| has been disclosed information tha
may implicate Pierre LaCrouts, VIII
has gone to France with his family
The information developed is il
/ substance that Lacrouts had threat
ened Gossiot, who was an unwilling
/ witness aginst him in bOotleggln
case. It was on Gossiot's eyldenc
that LacrOuts was convicted. He ha
been sentenced to pay fine OF $50
and i2 months Imprisonment at th'
Parish Farm and IL months in ad
dition in default of payment. Hi
lease was appealed. His bond is fixe,
at 81 500 with A. Queries as surety
Iacrouts' enmity was aggrayate
by Gossiots's refusal to buy La
crouts' dairy, for which he had de
manded an extravagant price, an
instead purchased Leopards place
The deceased was aged 80 year
| He had resided i'll New Orleans be
| lore his removal to Shreveport. H
| was industrious, and from his say
| ings had accumulated enough none
| With which to go into the dairy bus
i. mess III Shreveport. He was law
\ ;,l,iding and had the respect an
1 good will Of all who knew hiE,. 4
was MARRIED seven years. His w;du'
Iaud several children mourn lis III
| timely end. The body, prepared TO
i burial at Wellman's parlor, will b
taken on the evening train to Mex
| Orleans for interment.
/ Possibly in this case, as i'll ).hc;s
there may be some unaYoidahie 'td
] lay in linking the full chain of Gil
cumstances. but whatever suspicio