El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-25
OTEROFIREDAT
{. 4BACA FIRST
Romero Says Baca Was Hit;
Widow Says That Baca
Owed Husband.

- " VI lA4S-SN~~~~-
Mrs. Celestino Otero, wife of Otero,
who is alleged to have been kllieu "
Elfego Baca on January 81. lsi2. tesll-
fled on the witness stand IuesuaN
morning that she and her HUSBAND cam
I to FL Paso TO collect some money tnat
/ was due Otero from Elfego Bsca-
We had lived in and near Al9uq1eI55
D cue for number of years and had
I known E,lfegO Baca by sight ana on the
Z street for eight years. sne testlle -.
! Il had seen him at various times IN
! Albuquerque and twice he stopped ~
/ husband while we were walking o.
I the street and took him into ms auto
4 mobile and drove off
SaIaEar's Escape.
/ The witness was interrogated as to
/ whether or not the auto rldlng ana
| conversation had occurred prior TO the
! escape of Gen. Ynez Salazar- and she
I stated that Salazar had Afterwards
I gene to the Manuel Nigal ranch, WnerS
I she and her husband lived, for hldlns
| The attorneys for the plalnutt ooJectei
| to the introduction Of testimony ana
| their objection was sustained by the
court
Mrs. Otero testified Jhat she was
I with her husband when Manuel NiSal
] gave OterO $40 to go TO FL Paso ana
! meet Elfego Baca. where he WOuld
then be paid money that was due him
II knew Salazar.' said Mrs Otero.
Where did you know him asked
! the district attorney.
The first time I met him was at the
! ranch. where we were living
| What was he doing there
He was hiding at the ranch
When was it that your husband ana
| ElfegO Baca rode around in the auto
with reference to the escape Oh Sala-
! zar2"
1T was prior TO the escape and the
/ last time was about November 20 Sew
eral days before Cen Salazar came out
to my house"
To Collect Money.
You and your. husband came down sl
I to FL Paso to collect some money from
Elfego Baca then
Yes. sir"
who told him to come down here2'
Another man that was mixed up
with the. escape of Salazar;" .-.,.s
Here the attorneys for the plaintliI
objected and the objection was again
| sustained by the court
Who was it who told you to come
here2'
I know who"
Who was the man."
Manuel NigaL"
Got the Pistol
, The first witness at the IuescaN
: [ morning session of the Baca trial was
Jim Biggs. who was close TO the trag-
, ! edy on the day that it occurred blsSs
testified that he picked up the pistol
| that was on the ground. that he eN-
: ! amined it, that he put it into his pocket
I and after telephOning the police ne
I / took the pistol out and II dlscharSeG
]
= / that there were either six OF seven
q cartridges in the magazine and that
r the seventh cartridge was the one thag
n Z he discharged accidentally he sara
( that the accidental discharge must
( have occurred 10 minutes after the
4 tragedy and that he turned the gun
Q over TO the police
Q saw Baea's Pistol
4 BigEs's testimony was valuable 70 the
= state in that he testified that while
he did not see who fired the first shot
H. Ill 4 rrrnd c-rr a
pistol in Baca's hand and that the other
/ shots had occurred while he was look
s ing. "Otero staggered backward and
was screaming something, said BiSss;
e / and his hands were thrown up and
2 there was nothing in them that / could
; Romero Saw shooting.
> u. r p. Romero stated that he mad
o. I taken Baca to saloon on South Santa
= Fe street where he was to have met
= / Otero. but OterO vas not there and
and they had started for town
As we drew near the santa re
tracks 1 saw Otero and he waved TO US
N ! TO stop / said TO Baca, 'Ihere IS the
man who wanted to see you-shall !
= stop And he said. Yes. stop. 80 !
Y turned the car about the telephone
a : posts and Baca jumped out OF the car
= and said, What do YOU want
=, OterO shot at Baca.
"OterO asked. Are you going TO An
joda's place. Baca replied, I've been
s. there Then Baca said to Otero. What
u have YOU in your right hand pocket
BY this time the man took several steps
backward. He cursed Baca and pulled
out a gun from his right hand pocket
ie aBaca then reached for his hiI
lie pocket. drew a gun. and snot oter'
II | twice. saying. Drop that gun you
= Then Baca said. Well I'm shot
| He looked at his waist and instead o.
1 being wounded the bullet had gone
through his coat Now I'm in for Jaii'
1ra eafd We into the auIOnlO
* Bnca KeDt HIS Pistol.
Romero testified that man ha'
come up Immediately after the shgot
- ing and picked up the pistol that nae
fallen from Otero's hand. he stale,
al emphatically that Baca had put his oWi
~ gun back into his pocket ana thal lIi'
oh last he remembered of seeing Oter'
. was when OterO lay on the Srounu- on
- hand back of his head ana MS iSA
re hand reaching for the pistol that NJ
r had dropped at Baca's command Il
"a drop the pistol
r. Old Man Saw shooting
ne A very old man. who sat at IN
ly northeast corner of the Santa Fe depo
tn is said to have been a witness TO tn
shooting Of CelestinO Otero, aeeordln
to the evidence of engineer J. T. ray
Tor. who testified at the Baca tria
-, Monday afternoon never ..si =" bs ~,
~ man before said Taylor, and l nay
never seen him since; but from M
position aud the fact that my engine
u ] in switching, did not come oetM . &c
at { and break his view. should say ina
il any one was a witness TO the Whoi
affair that this old Mexican man was.
The state met with anotneI set OeS
y in developing its proseegtIo" 80, ~ -,
IT'S absence OF J. B. McSpadden- nreInal
no whose testimony at the pfelIliIliil IA.
at hearing was read and who In tnal YES e,
H. timony virtually stated that ne ~ u
shooting and the pistol in the hand
Baca- - -
- In developing the case from IN
re plaintiffs side special stress IS oeln
,sg placed upon the fact that no one WI ~
la ness could state that they saw the mr.
sbos fireJ. or that the number of IL
= shots fired in all was three four
I five.
n Girl saw Otero Fall Fall. q
III The first witness TO be placed 9
III che sto1d vras Miss Luis Alvarez WI
iii stated that she was on her way !! non n
1rI