The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1919-10-30
Johnson MUST FACE
CHARGES IN GA.
JOHNSON" ONCE THOUGHT TO
BE OBJECT OF CHARITY,
CONFESSED CRIMINAL

Walter Nicely, was arrested anu louS-
ed in the county Jail here to await
the action ofthe Williamsburg au-
thorities. The accused will be required
very likely to answer a number OF
counts, as he has already confessed
accounts, as he has already confessed
to long string of depredStions COM
mitted in violation of law, among
these being housebreaking and rob-
berry, adultry, making moonshine hq-
our and wife beating all committed
in this county. He also confesses
to have deserted the army at Camp
Gordon, Georgia, to have broken into
and robbed several stores at Millen,
Ca, breaking Jail at Sylvania, Ga.'
and lastly to have deserted hisIaw-
full wife and children, and stealing
another mans wife and children at
Rockyford, Georgia.
Johnson, or Neely, as he claims
his right name to be, is a native OF
Georgetown county. He is a man OF
ordinary intelligence and twenty-five
or twenty-six years of age. Some
time ago he returned to Andrews
from Georgia, and for time engag-
ed in a private distilling business on
the place of Robert Camlin, near An
drews, working diligently every day
including Sundays, carrying the work
on in the house in which ne lived.
When he began to feel uneasy over
mis- further safety and freedom from
molestation he left Andrews and en-
gagged with Mr.. A. H. Montgomery at
his sawmin near Salters Depot.
While there he broke into the store
of Mr.. McClary at Lane and lifted a
number of suit cases which he filled
with merchandise from the McClary
stock. He then left the sawmill and
went to Cades and was employed for
{. short time on the section force OF
the Atlantic Coast Line. Last week
Mr.. S. ]. Deery of this place got in
formation to the effect that there was
a family near town in destitute cir
cumstances. He at once went to in
yestigate and found that his in
formation was more than we'll found
ed so far as it related to the woman
and three children. The shanty in
which they lived was almost bare,
only a dirty, worn mattress in the
house for them to sleep on, and no
food save small piece of fat salt
pork. The children were i'll and the
woman was sick with scarcely cloth
ing enough to cover her body. The
little tots were sparcely clad in rags
and the baby .on the mattress, suffer-
ing with chills and fever, had only
an old jacket for its covering. ltwas
a scene of absolute poverty and squal-
lor, with crime as the underlying
cause. The woman was frail and anna
ciated from cruel treatment and
starvation. M. Deery and the citi-
zens of Kingstree at once took the
matter in hand and needed supplies
were sent them. In the meantime
suspicion began to center on the man
of the house who had also claimed to
be i'll with chills and fever when
found at the house by Mr.. Deery and
those who proffered succor to he and
his family. Saturday when MIR. Deery
went to see how the family was get
ting along the man was absent and
the woman was in highly nervous
state and bore bruises and bleeding
scars on her face and head. She was
questioned very pointedly by Mr..
Deery and confessed that johnson,
alias Jackson, alias Nicely had beaten
her severely only short time before
and had left the house for Cades, in
tending to catch train there and
leave for parts unknown. Mr.. Deery
still being suspicious, went into the
loft of the cabin in search Of the man,
then he looked under the house where
he found stored away a large suit
case containing some of the mer-
chandise stolen from the McClary
store at Lane, and of which the wo-
man had told in her confession. With
the information given him by the de-
iected woman and mistress OF man
whose actions had not been above
suspicion, Mr.. Deery hurried back to
Kingstree, got warrant for the man
of MANY aliases, ana accompanied by
Deputy Cockfeld headed for Cades IN
Mr.. Deery's car. There they appre-
hended and arrested the man who
had a few days before elected the
sympathy OF the community. AS
above stated he is now in jail here