Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-01-18
TRIAL
OF R. COWEN HELD
BEFORE JUSTICE
HEARING IS IN CONNECTION WITH
PAYMENTS or MONEY FOR AM
MUNlTiON F0H MEXICO.
COMPLAINT ALLEGES PAYMENT OF
CHECK TO DEFENDANT, AND
M0N-OELivERY OF GOODS.

Rafael Cowen Of tins city Is defendant
in an examining trial that was begun il
the court of Justice of the Peace III. j
Kirk this morning IN which Cowen j. charg.
II with having fraudulently received
heck made on the First National bank Of
Brownsville in payment for ammunition
that the defendant j. charged with neve
having had ~ his possession and Will
never hav.re teen in a position 10 deliver
The date of the transaction was giveI
as December % of last year. the ammuni
tion 10 be delivered 10 n representative .
he Mexican army on or before January |
this year.
The complaint was made some DAYS agr
Nv Juan Gutierrez Of Matamoros, IN en-
plove Of the Mexican consulate in thi
city. The entire morning session of jus
tlce KIrk's conrt. after Il series Of de
lays in connection with procuring n cour
interpreter and on account of other dc
LAYS. was devoted to taking the statement
of Gutierrez. The hearing was ~n~pendcf
~ noon until : o'clock tJis afternoon ~
the midst of the examination vi Gutierrez
III the complaint upon which Mr.. Cover
was arrested and placed under bond IN
Sheriff NJ. 7. Nann several DAYS ago. Gu
@ticrrcz stated that on December %. La
wear. he handed a check. drawn on thf
National bank of Brownsville foI
eI 10 Mr.. Cowen. The complaint state.
The check was fraudnlently receiye6
kat Mr. Cowen was not ii a position a
oply with the terms Of the contract
which we're the delivery of 5000 cart
Irf .or expectation 10 Matamoros.
hi~ statement this morning Cutter
-cz related having handed to Cowen at thc
~laitcr's home in this city December Is Of
last year the sum Of S2250 in American
bills. This money, he stated. was tor III,
purchase of ammunition, 10 the amount OF
about 30 boxes Of 1920 cartridges. which
Cowen. he stated. agreed To cross to Mex-
leo that same night through the Nillareal
ranch An Los Tomatcs and cause ~ be
placed in the corridor MI the home NJ Mr..
hughes. III Matamoros. Cowcn. Cutter
rez stated. handed him $3.50 for his serv-
ices and took from him q receipt.
The S225o came from Colonel Treic
Gonzalez, commander of the Matamoro>
garrison. following an arrangement that
had largely aeen conducted through Gu
%ticrrez for the purchase and delivery Of
the ammunition. From December ~ until
Y -n Grtie1rr7 sand he was kept
busy between the office Of Colonel Con
nlr at Cowen In IN effort
TO induce the latter to dispatch the ammu
milton. The first night. December 10, he
said, the man engaged To cross the ammu-
milton had been arrested. The Sec0nc
night he was drunk and the third night a
guard bad been placed at Mr.. Cowen'~
residence. according I'd the statement that
Gutierrez said he told him. 10 SPY upon
Governs movements.
At this junction die examination was
interrupted bv recess. lp to about ?
o'clock this afternoon the defense had not
minated whether or not il would put wit
nesses on the stand. The prosecution Is
being conducted by Williams and Kitchen
in conjunction with County Attorney a.
Nj. Kent. Harbcrt Davenport conducted
the defense Id the examination.
Gutierrez traced the history uf the Al
legged transactions between Mr.. Cowcn
and Colonel Gonzales tO the latter part
Ut last October when Gutierrez stated that
he delivered to Cowcn a passport" from
Mexican Consul j. y. CARA NJ this city
to Matamoros which had been sought by
Cowen and which was used by HIM IN
making a call upon Colonel Gonzales. Fol
lowing the meeting between Cuwcn and
Gonzalez. Gutierrez says that Cowen told
him that he was about ~ ~ ~ New York
city and that on the eve ri the day that
Cowen had set for going To New York he
told Gutierrez something about some 30
30 ammunition that he was arranging to
deliver to Colonel Gonzales.