Arizona republican., 1914-02-26
|SELF-DEFENSE
 |S THEIR PLEA
Leonard and Tomlin Shot Marshal Hi Peterson to Protect Their Own Per sons from Similar De- struction, Says Counsel

OuI uCuIO1I, kCd D NOullOCl The defense in the Leonard Tom lin case will be self defense This was the program of the counsel as outlined in an address to the jury following the resting of the state yes terday afternoon They will attempt to prove that the boys who mur- dered Peterson did so under stress of fear and for the protection of their own lives; that they were forced into shooting by the dead man when he shot one of them first, and that they did not rob the Alhambra store when they were in flight
 When the state rested it's case at 1:40 o'clock and the court declared a short recess, following this Attor- ney Mouer for the defense announced to the jury the program he would follow and the case he would en- deavor to prove. His statement of facts which he will establish was as follows:
 That Leonard lived in Mesa some four years prior to the time when i the crime was committed when he worked on a ranch near the city; at 1 the same time he was living in Mesa | he was supporting his mother and sister; he was about E years of age, and his sister was 19 That Peterson was at the time an officer of the peace in Mesa, and as such imposed on the woman and girl and watched the house continually; Leonard was told these facts by his mother and sister, and, seeing the officer on the streets, asked him why he should single them out as his victims: Pe- terson then told the boy that it was none of his business, and that if he didn't run along and keep still he would kill him.
 Later we will show that Peterson repeated his trouble melting actions and insulted Leonard's sister: when l Leonard next saw the officer he again asked him to desist. and Peter son struck him, and said he would kill him if it took ten years
 That Leonard knew Peterson s reputation; he knew that Peterson was drinking often, and knew that Peterson himself had been in trouble
 We will show, further, that Leon- ard, the boy, was afraid of the off l cer Peterson; he was so much afraid that he left Mesa, and persuaded his mother and sister to leave with him; he went out and worked all over the state, at the same time supporting his mother and sister.
 That he met last fall. when he went to work on the Luhrs building the defendant. TOmlin, who was an iron worker on the building, and with whom he was dismissed from the job when the steel ran out That he and Tomlin met upon the street with Harry Jennings and asked for a posi- tion, which he promised them the middle of the week in Mesa That the boys went to Mesa on the af-
 ternoon of the killing, walking all
 the way. to see if they get their promised employment There they
 failed to find Jennings. and returned
 to Tempe on wheels they had stolen
 to see if he could be found there
 That on their return to Mesa, when
 they were taking the wheels back to
 their owners, they were stopped by a
 man who called after them, Stop,
 or I'll stop you!' That the encounter
 followed, when Peterson stuck his
 gun in the defendant, Leonards S.
 stomach, saying, Now, I've got you,
 and that the defendant finally shot
 the officer after he had already been
 shot. and only inself- defense.
 "The boys then became frightened ,f1 of +I, of Peterson's friends, and ran. taking the course officers and others have told. The rest of the story is about as it has been presented in the testi- mony. except that the boys did not
 rob the store at Alhambra"
 Atha M Leonard. defendant on the
 charge of killing Marshal Hi Peter
 son at Mesa, first took the stand ir
 his own defense. Under the direc- ton of his counsel, Brumback and Mouer Leonard told the story of his
 killing Peterson, bringing out, so fal
 as possible. the contention of Attor-
 ney Mouer in his address to the jury
 The defense scored their greates
 victory of the day when they succeed . ed in introducing, over the objection of the prosecution, evidence showing self f-defense The discussion came III at the time Brumback asked the de t fendant, why did you shoot Peter son?" the state maintaining that tht e evidence was a plea of self-defenst : prior to the introduction of any evi- 7 dence showing the necessity of self
 defense.
 5 When Leonard faced the attorneys of the state he underwent over ar 7 hour of rapid fire questioning of the l most searching and thorough char acter. County Attorney Frank Ly-
 man shot the questions at him one
 after the other, leaving him only time
 to answer It was during this exam
 ination that Leonard showed the
 spirit he maintains and his defiance
 and fighting ability were uppermost
 He weighed his answers flashed then l back with the same spirit he received 3 them. and showed that he was a boy , of much common sense and some