New-York tribune., 1918-02-12
Jury inds Stivers
Guilty of Murder
In Second Degree

1t took the jury which had listened
to the evidence against George w.
Stivers, the 19-year-old boy, charged
with shooting Patrolman james Cum
ningham 20 death last May, exactly one
hour and three-quarters to find him
guilty of murder in the second degree.
The penalty is Imprisonment from 20
years to life.
Jrdge Mcintyre concluded his charge
to the jury at half past nine Five
minutes later the jury was locked up
for deliberaton.
word came from the juryroom that
the twelve men had agreed on their
verdict. Judge Mcintyre and the law
yers were in the courtroom. There
was no delay.
The boy prisoner showed little emo
tion as the foreman of the jury pro-
nounced the word "guilty" He seemed
to be in q daze. AS the clerk of the
court took his pedigree his answers
were scarcely audible a dozen feet
from where he stood.
Judge Mcintyre thanked the jury and
said the verdict was entirely consistent
with the evidence. After Andrew
Fleming, foreman of the jurors had
asked permission to express the thanks
CT the jurors to the court for the
courtesy which had been extended
them, Stivers was ordered to be taken
back to the Tombs. He will be SEN
fenced on Friday.
The shooting of the policeman took
place on May "a. Stivers's arrest dio
not occur until some weeks later and
did not take place until the police had
trailed him through a greater part of
the East; into the army at Plattsburg
and out, with the chase ending finally
at Newark, N. j. :
Mustered Out of Army
Stivers had just been mustered out
of the 22d Engineers on the Mexican
border He was madly in love with
Miss Maybelle de Latte, fourteen years
old, whom he had seen the previous
summer at a Long Island resort The
girl agreed to elope with him to Con-
her late in the afternoon Of May "a,
bound for their Gretna Green, when
the automobile went dead"
The couple returned to New York
that evening, and Stivers went. to
Broadway and Ninety sixth Street and
stole a car lying at the curb. He picked
MaybeIie up and began trying to elude
the police. They drove to a lonely
spot at Prescott Avenue and West
ton, and pulled down the curtains, in
tending to get some sleep before max
ing another attempt to get to Green
wich, Conn.
About 6 o'clock in the morning Cum
Elngham pulled UP the curtain and in
formed Stivers that he was under ar
rest. Stivers protested that the car
was his and showed his license card.
Cunningham was obdurate and ordered
Stlvers to go along with him.
Stivers testified that he bent over to
tired two shots at him, one of which
hit his right shoulder. Raising his
army gun, Stivcrs fired several shots at
cunningham, and one struck him in
the chest near the neck. Cunningham
dropped. He died a few days later from
pneumonia caused by the wound
Girl Tells of Shooting
Stivers, with Maybelle in a hysterical
condition, started to drive away, but
struck pillar of the elevated subway
structure, demolshing the car. They
fled to the apartment of Walter HAYES.
Stivers's friend, near by, and Stivers
eventually escaped to Plattsburg. where
Re enlisted in the field artillery under
an assumed name. The police got on
ms trail he was compelled to flee to
Pittsburgh and was later arrested in
Newark, n. j.
Miss De Latte, who would easily be
taken for girl of eighteen, was the
principal witness against Stivers. She
testified that he and not Cunningham
fired the first shot.