The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-01-10
Petersburg
MAN
GIVEN TWENTY YEARS

Especial 10 The Richmond Virginian.)
Petersburg. Jan. 9-Harry Lewis,
& gray haired man Of sixty years. was
found guilty by q jury in the hust-
ings court today on the charge OF
assault.ng Elizabeth Carr. an eleven
ar-old white girl and was given
sentence of twenty years In the state
peuitcntiary.
When the verdict OF the jury was
returned the aged man was unnerVed
and he pleaded with Judge Mullen for
mercy. saying that the charges against
him were untrue The judge told the
man frankly that It was almost I'm
possible for a man Of his age 10 live
through such a term of imprisonment.
but his own admissions in court were
enough to justify the verdict OF the
fury He then sentenced the man and
he was taken back to the city jail,
from which place he will be carried
10 the state penitentiary in Richmond
within a few days to begin serving
what Is considered a life sentence.
Lewis vas represented by Attorney
H 4. Gillian, who was appointed by
the court to defend thu man. Mr..
Gillian put up a good case for the ac-
cused. and, in the opinion of many,
had II not been for tbs good work of
the attorney Lewis would have been
sent TO the electric chair.
The assault occurred in a vacant
house within one hundred yards OF
the police station the earlier part of
October Lewis was arrested by Desk
Sergeant Hubbard. He waived pre-
liminary examination in police court
and had been confined in the city jail
since that time,
The eleven year old girl testified
az ha told hnyg
SHE had been enticed into the building
by the man with candy. She told
straightforward story and was not
shaken by the cross exa nination of
the defendants attorney.
Divers Efforts Unsuccessful.
The diver secured by the DUPONT
company to search for the bodies Of
James and Rowland Barrett, the
brothers who were drowned last Sat
urday evening while attempting to
cross the James river at City Point in
an automobile on the ice, worked to-
day and yesterday without any sue
cess in finding the bodies. The zee
through which the men plunged to
their deaths has melted and workmen
are engaged in dragging the river In
search for the bodies.
The diver reported the machine
resting In thlrty-fve feet of water and
the bodies miss ng from it. The cur
ta!ns of the car were torn, showing
that the men had escaped from the
closed car after falling into the water
and had made a vain attempt to re-
gain the hole through which they had
fallen. II is thought possible that the
bodies may have been carried further
down the river by the current and
efforts TO locate them further down
The river will he made.
The diver reported that had the ma
chine failer through the ice seventy
fiVe feet further out on the river the
men would have fallen into four feet
OF wafer instead OF the thirty -iive-foot
depth.
IalaTn ter OF Commerce Meets.
The chamber OF commerce hello its
annual meet ng AZ the Y. ". G. A. last
hight and on .~s ele ted for the en-
suing year 4 banquet was rendered
the members ana their guests at the
Hotel Petersburg after the business
meet ng.
Among the speakers IT the banquet
were Colonel w FL Valdron, chief
Of stad of - Eight eth d vision Ma
jor Dunlop OF the English 31cers
stationed al camp Lee and -olonc1
Thor as Il. 3IcAdams. Of Richmond.
Miss Uoodwar I'd Burt q.
The buF 81 ~ Miss Bette Wood
ward, whose death occurred in Nor
folk Monday. took place this morn ing
III Biaudfcvd cemetery, Kev Drs c.
r. - bling and Miehaux Ra.ae con-
ducti7g the services
Miss Wood ward was for many years
a res dent II his city and a member
Of the Tahb-street Presbyterian
church
Funeral Services CT nducted.
The fff-prai Of l. Newton Smith
took place yesterday afternoon from
the Wesley Methodist Episcopal
church, the Rev, r. ], c. Heath Off
ciatin@. The following acted as pail
bearers; Honorary--&1essrs w. u.
North ngton and c. L. Matthews Ac-
tiVe-~-Messrs, N. r.. Baird, c. s War
riner. G. r Meredith. Robert Tucker,
w. w. Taylor and w. l. Ennis.