Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-22
PRISON TERMOF FROM F TO .I5 YEARS
Given Jacob Byzd of Preston Who Shot at William Beet ham Last September -Beetham Had Impounded Byz- dils Cows and Was Holding Them for Settlement of Damages,

I Byzdi1 would seem as If no were crazy l when he got a few drinks.
 To States Attorney Hull, Mrs. Byz- dil said that her husband had been l drinking whiskey on the afternoon Of owed him S1o, but Beetham claimed the amount was S6
 ByzdiI. the accused. was put on the stand, giving his statement through
 Interpreter M. sAialinowski, as Mrs. ByZdil had done
 On the immediate circumstances of the shooting, @Byzdil said that he was going to Beetham's barn to see if his COWS that Beetham had in the barn had been mixed. Beethan, grabbed
 him by the throat and. punched him in
 the stomach. Then the shooting took
 Attorney Charles L. Stewart, who prosecuted the. case in the Preston justice court, made statement at the request of Major, Hull. He said that
 ByzdiI was seen waiting around the
 Beetham barn with his hands in his pocket and when Beetham came out with the milk pails Byzdil asked Will , you give me my catte?' Beetham an-
 swered: Are you ready to pay for then? 2"
 As Beetham opened the barn door. Byzdil fired and Beetham was so l scared that he fell unconscious over a chain at the door. Byzdn walked off. All ILAS ldu DGSIl SGS1 DS MI lS. Beetham from a window at the house,
 and she rushed out of the house, cry ing to Byzdil- that he had killed her husband. Byzdil- told her to get back into the house or he would have an- other one for her. t-.. Attorney Shields made a statement
 for the court in which he said he did not believe the element of malice was in this assault. but that drink prob ably; and the conditions that had con- 1 fused Byzdn had led him. to commit 1 this assault and this should entitle the l accused to leniency from the court. The states attorney emphasized the fact that Byzdil apparently lay in wait for -Beetham and that Byzdil told Sher- | If H. F. Draper that he wished he had l killed Beetham. This brought in an l element which would have made the crIIne murder in the first degree if 1 Bectham mad died.
 Tn pronouncing sentence Judge l Greene said this case was very differ ent from the one previously in court at this session and no such sentence was given in that one was deserved in 1 this one. Although there was no actu- al justification for what Byzdl had done, the accused had apparently had a feeling. that he was justified and his confused state of mind accounted in some measure possibly for what had happened
 Other aspects of the case were
 touched upon by the judge, who said that he thought the least sentence that
 the court could justly impose would be as already state.
 Then court adjourned 10 the next morning at 10 o'clock.
 The shot that Byzdu fired came
 within a fraction of an inch of pene-
 tTating Beetham's chest. grazing past
 his body and leaving its mark and
 passing into the jamb of the door
 There was. but one shot in the pistol, il
 was shown in the evidence After the
 shooting BEzdl was arrested by Dep
 uty sheriff Herbert E. Draper. who
 had Supernumerary Policeman Ralph
 DiYeto WiIh him at the time.