The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-12
COOLEY MURDER
CASE MUDDLED
Negro, Alleged House Breaker,
COnfesses Startling Plot
of Gang to Kill.
ROBBERY MOTIVE GIVEN
Former Policeman Martin Sticks
to Confession That He and
Ervaine Committed Crime

Ervaine Committed Crime
A second confession Of knowledge
and completely in the murder OF
George Cooley, Well-known local res
| taurant man, on the streets of the
city the night of December %, this
! confession coming from an entirely
different and apparently unrelated
source to that of the confession made
some weeks ago by former Police
| Officer r. 0. Martin, has developed
a situation that is thoroughly COM
| pick to the public and others who have
| interested themselves in upraveling
the circumstances of the murder
| Were two distinctive plots laid by
unrelated parties or gangs of gunmen
for one being for the purpose of rob-
Nbery and the other revenge, the murder
| of the man the same night the plan
|of both being to attack him on his
way home?" This is the question that
MS next to be solved in the case.
| James Robinson, negro now being
| held in the police station told a story
! yesterday that only confuses the police
in solving the mystery and gives an
! opening for new theories. Robinson
! says that some negroes, himself a
mong them, planned to rob Cooley that
! Saturday night and the shooting oc-
| CURED as a result of the plans. He
says that he and another negro, Ned
| Long robbed Cooley'S place of about
| $50 a few days previous to the murder
| and had tried to rob his house two
| days previous when they We're frigh-
| tened away by an approaching fire
man.
| The pistol used in the shooting, he
| says, was the one stolen from the car
| of John Lyman shortly before, this
| theft having been reported to the
| police station by Lyman. The firing
of the shot, he says was done by Ned
! Long, the other negro in Jail.
Ned Long tells practically the same
| details as Robinson, but says that
Robinson was the man who did the
shooting. Lyman says that these ne
groes had stolen the pistol from him
and when he confronted them with
a threat of punishment had promised
to pay for the gun.
Martin, in the county Jail, maintains
that he and George Ervaine were the
men who killed Cooley and that they
alone are the guilty parties. He in
sisted late last night that he had been
that he had not been able to rest un-
ill after he had told the story.
James Robinson's Statement.
Robinson gave straightforward
story of the killing of Cooley and
events that led up to the shooting.
He claimed that he and others had
intended to rob Cooley and the rob
berry had been planned for Saturday
night The plans had been made on
West Hill, Thursday, before Cooley
was killed on Saturday night. The
gang of negroes were to meet in
pool room before the others arrived
he and another negro left to go TO
Cooley's place and see where Cooley
placed his money after closing up. The
negro gave in detail the streets ira
yersed on the trip to the restaurant
but after getting there saw that Cooley
had closed his place of business.
In company with the other negro,
whose name is withheld temporarily
they went down Government-st. 10
Baylen and north on Baylen to Ro-
mana. At the corner of Romano and
Baylen the two saw Ned Long ana TWO
other negroes step out from hiding
behind the corner of the Woodmen
Hall and saw Long throw a gun on MI.
Cooley, pointing it at about the mead !
He said that Mr.. Cooley clinched with ;
the negro and in the struggle that
followed the shot was fired that
brought on the death.
Following the shooting Robinson
says that he saw Long run across /
Romana-st. and start across the va !
cant lot next to Pous establishment |
Later he found Long near Baylen ana
Garden streets and found out that the |
negroes had not gotten any of Cooleys /
money-as he asked Long to split
Robinson said, when asked what he
and the others said when they saw
that Martin had confessed, THAT man !
is done gone plumb crazy. He also
said that Ned Long stated TO him ana !
two others, that Martin did not kill
Cooley for 1 done it myself. I am the
one that done the shooting and |
done it with that .3S Owl"
When Robinson was asked il IL was
not possible that il was Martin and
Ervaine who did the shooting and that
he Just thought it was Long because
he knew that Long intended to rob
Cooley. he said NO sir, it was Long,
I saw him as he come from behind
the building and recognized him then
and also when he run across the street |
towards the vacant lot at Pou's." Rob-
inson made his statement before the
grand jury in session yesterday and
last night said that he told that body
exactly what he was telling them
LONG Makes Statement
Long gives story about the same