The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1919-11-28
KILLING or WILBANKS
OFFICERS EXAMINED
Jury Renders Verdict of Accidental
Killing.


was held to establish the facts in
the arrest and killing of Hiram Will
banks,
There have been for some time
rumors of the making of moonshine
whiskey in Obion County at two or
three different places The sheriff
and officers have been quietly wait
ing to get some clue of the wherea-
bouts of the men engaged in the
illicit liquor business. The story
goes that this liquor was delivered
and sold at different points. 1t is
said to be made with meal and shorts
and soured with Merry War Lye,
and the customers who drink it are
effected with kidney hemorrhages,
This trouble probably led to the
discovery of enough evidence to start
with, and so Sheriff Hickman pre-
pared his plans to make an arrest.
His testimony was that he secured
information to the effect that Mr..
Wilbanks would make trip last
Friday evening to the place where
the moonshiner was making his
goods and return towards Union City.
Getting his car ready he waited un-
til he heard the cranking of the Will
banks car. Then he and his son,
Asa, got in one car and Deputies Nc
Cain and Harris got in another car
and began to track the Wilbanks car
over the lake road towards Protemus.
They stopped at the residence of For
est Cloar, the Sheriff parking his
car in the road. This is a point
some ten miles or more from Union
City. The officers took their places
on Mr.. Cloar's porch, from which
they had plain view of the road.
1t was not long until they saw the
lights of an approaching car and
feeling reasonably sure that 1t was
Wilbanks car the Sheriff and his son
went out to their car to meet him.
Mr.. Hickman had parked his car in
the road, turning it sidewise so as
to block the road as much as possible. |
The road there runs little east of
north. Evidently Wilbanks didn't |
zee the officers car until he was
right at it. 1t was about dark. The
Sheriff was in the road and calling |
by name, warned him to
halt. Wilbanks hesitated> and then
,ried to pass. The Sheriff tried to
stop him and stumbled in the road /
md fell. While he was in the act of |
Using to his knees Wilbanks shot |
1t him twice from the left side of the
car, and then the Sheriff |
reached for his pistol and fired. All
# the three shots hit nobody. Then
he Wilbanks car moved farther up
he road at a rather slackened speed
lbout thirty or fourty feet. Here
several other shots were fired, so Mr..
Hickman said, and he went up to the
ar and found that Mr.. Wilbanks
lad been shot and killed, leaning to
me side. Here he was joined by Mr.. 4
Mccain and Mr.. Harris and they 4
earched the car and found six one
,allon jugs filled with white whiskey Il
Mr.. Mccain was on the stand and
tated that he fired three shots at the
Vilbanks car in order to stop it.
lie saw Mr.. Hickman fall and
hought he was. killed and then it
vas that he fred the three shots.
lie did not see Mr.. Wilbanks but
ointed his pistol at the spotlight on
he Wilbanks car
Mr.. Gus White, the undertaken,
vas called to the stand. He exhibit
d the clothing, overcoat and trous-
RS, that Mr.. Wilbanks wore. The
hot that killed Mr.. Wilbanks had
ntered his chest little to the right
( center and penetrated the body
hru an artery, passing out at the
ack. There was hole in back of
he suspender thru the web, turned
A hole was in the tie on
is shirtfront. The conclusion was
nat if the shot had entered the back
ne bullet would not have gone thru
he tie. but knocked it out.
The Jugs of whiskey were exhibit
4 in the court room. The fury was
lken down to the court yard to ex-
mine the Wilbanks car, which had
hole in the back curtain. Here
[r. Mccain was again examined as
, the position he was in when he
not towards the spotlight on the
ar. There is a space Of three or
3ur inches between the spotlight
nd the windshield. and Mr.. Mccain,
,anding in front OF the car a little
, the right and shooting in the di-
sction of the spotlight, the bullet
ranged thru the space at