The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-01-03
.DEPOSED WARDEN
AGAIN IN TROUBLE.
George Wood, St. Louis County De-
putty Sheriff, Bound Over To 1tasca
County Grand Jury For Burglary
BEING HELD ON $500 BOUND
Evidence To Effect That Gun
Club Warden Broke in House Of
Home steader Commings Free

George Wood, of Hibbing, who last
summer was given his release as a
deputy game warden of the State
Game and Fish Commission, follow
ing an investigation as to his con-
duct in office, made by S. C. Bailey,
warden inspector of this city, is
again in hot water.
This time he is charged with bur-
glary, and has been bound over to
the Itasca county grand jury. It was
claimed in the complaint that Wood,
acting as deputy sheriff of st.
Louis, and representative of the
Hibbing and Virginia Gun clubs
broke open a door to the home of
home-steader and took some hides.
After his release from the commits
sion, he was made deputy sheriff, up
on the request of petition signed
by a hundred members of the gun
clubs of the range. It was under
stood that he was only to act as war
den. He has a record of securing
more convictions than any other
warden Of the state, during his term
in office. .-- ~ -
Was Bound Over
He was held to the grand jury by
justice of the Peace Plat after pre-
liminary hearing on charges prefer
red by D. A. Cameron of Carpenter
township that he had committed an
act of burglary on Carpenters pro-
perty. Game Warden Joe Cummings
also accused with Wood was re-
leased .~.-~.
The testimony of John Lanhousen
and John Cameron, the latter a son
Of the complaining witness, D. A.
Cameron, was to the effect that they
had seen the defendant officials take
down a door that had been nailed
up and enter building at the rear
of the living apartments Of the Cam
eron family, where the contraband
skins had been found.
Denies Door Was Nailed
Deputy Sheriff Wood claimed that
the door was not nailed up and that
he simply pushed it aside with his
hand and entered, finding the musk
rat and mink skins cased and stretch
ed on sticks. The Camerons admit
that the hides were in the place, but
claim to have trapped the animals
during the legal season. The visit
of the officials took place on Nov.
IS, and excerpts of the game laws
of the state, such as are given out
by the officials issuing licenses
state that these animals may be
trapped from Nov. Is to April 49,
| whereas the law itself states that
the season opens Dec. II.
Cameron Finds Note
David A. Cameron, the complain
ant, was not at home when the Of
ficers arrived, but found upon his re-
turn a note stating that the furs
had been taken by the searchers,
and to appear at Hibbing on the
following Saturday to answer to a
charge Of illegal trapping. Instead
of doing so Mr.. Cameron at
once swore out a warrant for the
arrest of the two men.
| In his findings Justice Plat said
that while the law gave wardens
| power to search without a warrant
certain premises, it was very explicit
in specifying nature of those pre-
misses such as boats, boxes, tents and
receptacles, but that in this enum-
GRAFTON houses and dwellings had ap-
parfently purposely been omitted
The court therefore considered thai
the law had been overstepped and
held Wood in $500 bond, allowing
Cummings to go, as it appeared thai
he had not actually had a hand in
the removal of the door to the place
in which the skins were found.