The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1920-10-16
STORY Of RED HOUSE
SHOOTING EScAPADE

G.. Cerri was acquitted of the charge
of assault with intent to kill, the jury
returning verdict of not guilty at
1910 o'clock Thursday night. The
jury was then discharged till the fur
ther order Of the court. Having failed
to secure . conviction in this case,
District Attorney Powell felt it use
less to prosecute the two other de-
fendants. William Heard and William
r. Pippin. and SO, at his request, the
cases against those men were dis
missed.
The shooting occurred on the night
OF the fifth Of last September at the
ranch house Of A. H. Johnson, COM
monty known as Shorty" Johnson,
near Red House. The defendants.
Cerri, Heard and Pippin. had gone
from the Ellison ranch. where they
were employed. to Red House in the
evening. and 1t was on their return
that the shooting occurred.
Johnson testified that he was lying
in bed reading as the men passed on
their way to Red House, and he was
awakened by the sound OF the wagon
as they returned; that he heard the
crack of rifle. followed by number
of other shots-sive or six and he
jumped up, grabbed his shotgun and
ran out at the door and around to the
corner Of the house and fired two
shots: that as he ran out he heard the
crash of window glass: that he ran
back into the house and got his pistol;
that the team ran away, and as he
afterward learned the wagon tongue
had been broken; that the party
stopped to fix the tongue little way
down the road: that he examined the
tracks next morning and could see
where they had stopped.
The testimony showed that there
had been some i'll feeling between
Heard and Johnson, which developed
while Heard was staying at John
sons house.
Cerri admitted on the stand that he
had fired two shots from a six-shooter
which was introduced in evidence,
but claimed that Johnson fired first
and that he grabbed the pistol from
the seat. where it lay. and shot back
In the direction from whence John
sons shots came He claimed that
no other shots were fired from the
wagon. He said the shooting scared
the team and 1t ran away and the
tongue broke just in front of the
double-tree and they stopped to fix it,
There was some controversy in
counsel's arguments as to whether
Cerri testified that he fired two shots
into the air to make Shorty quit
shooting" after the team stopped, and
to settle this. the record was called
for two or three times. the state
claiming that Cerri said he fired two
shots In the air after the team had
stopped. while the defense claimed
that the only two shots fired by Cerri
were discharged at the time the team
was running. The record. while ia
voring the states case. did not make
the point entirely clear and beyond
argument.
The defense introduced testimony to
prove that one of the horses was
shot in the front OF the right hind
ankle by one of the loads from the
shotgun. and that the horse was
crippled and some days after the
shooting was caught and examined;
that the ankle showed several wounds.
The state advanced the theory that
the juiury In the horse must have
been caused by the ankle striking
against the tongue as 1t dragged. and
claimed that in firing a charge from
a shotgun at rs yards that number of
shot would not strike so close to-
gether-that they would scatter.