The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-26
bROOK|NS CASE
 TAXES NEW TURN Police Now Believe Negro Lon Webb Did Killing TUCK CAIN STATEMENT Charges Webb Negro Did Shooting. Police Investigating Matter and Coming to Belief That Tom
 Webb Is Innocent
TUCK CAIN STATEMENT

The BroolSins case has taken a new turn, and the police are becoming con vinced that the negro Lon Webb, who made confession a few days ago inn plicating Thomas " Webb and Tuck Cain, negro. is the real murder of Joseph w. Brookins. They are working on that theory at the present time, ac- cordng to statements made at police headquarters yesterday afternoon.
 It was stated yesterday that the negro Cain had made a statement which in part corroborated the confession of Lon Webb, and in other vital parts completely repudiated the statements of the negro. As the police are becoming slowly recon ciled to the belief that Thomas w. Webb, the accused miner, was not in any ner connected with the assassination of Josepr Brookins, they are now bending their efforts to Investigating the state- ments of Tuck Cain in his allegation that Lon Webb did the fatal shooting at the instigaton of a white man, other than Tom Webb
 Joseph w. Brookns. motorman em- ployed by the Birmingham Railway. Light and Power company, was assassi- mated about 7:30 o'clock at night on June 15, in a field at F'ifty-first street and Fourteenth avenue north.
 The detectives began their search and soon announced that Mrs. Thomas W. Webb, who had been living at the Brook 1ns residence as d nurse to the mother of the dead man, was the cause of the murder. And they arrested her husband and placed him in jail where he remained from June 27 until July IS, when he was released because of insufficient evidence. Tom Webb was suspected because cer- tain persons in East Birmingham stated that he had made threats against Brook ins. It was alleged that Brookins had alienated the affections of Mrs. Webb, but this has been consistently denied by both Mir. and Mrs. Webb, and Mrs. Webb has stoutly defended her husband since the accusation of murder was placed against him.
 Still the police were positive that Tom Webb had killed Joseph BroolSns, and last Saturday, an effort was mace to resurrect an old warrant charging mis- demeanor, so as to hold Tom Webb in Jail a few days longer. This was frowned on by Chief of Police Martin Eagan, who stated that 1t Smacked or persecution ana Webb was allowed his freedom.
 Following his release from jail Webb returned to Porter where he fis employed in the mines. He was there last Wednes- day morning when the police rearrested him and brought him back to Birm.ng- ham, where he has since been kept in solitary confinement in the city jail.
 The allegations now against Webb are based entirely on the confession of d negro whom Detective Gene Eubanks arrested in Gadsdenflast Monday. in which it was stated that Tom Webb had paid S20 to Lon Webb, a negro, and $50 to Tuck Cain, another negro, to assassnate Joe Brookins. Webb denies the latest charges against him and states that he never had $50 to give away to anybody and alleges police persecution.
 As for the negro Lon Webb, there is no disputing the fact that he knows all about the Brookins case His confession is also a conviction in that he describes scenes about the Brookins residence and the manner of the actual killing with such details that there is no questioning the fact that he was present when the Killing took place.