The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1920-12-16
DANDY BANDITS IO
Be TRIED HERE
DATE TO BE FIXED BY Upton
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT

Change Of Venue Granted by Judge
Richards When Attorney General
Announces That He Win Not OPP
pose Motion. e..
Aida Shaw, Edward B. Kelley anC
Mrs. Aida Shaw, held for the murder
of George B. Reeves, iailer of Shelby
county, will be tried at Covington, ii
Upton county, on a date to be set By
the trial court, states the Memphis
Commercial Appeal of December Ia
This was decided on yesterday, wher
the state declined to contest the &C.
plication made by attorneys for 8
change Of venue for their clients.
A. B. Galloway, attorney for Shaw
Abe Cohn, representing Kelley, anC
j. B. Webb, counsel for Mrs Shaw
placed witnesses on the stand to prove
that the crime wave and the incident
of the death Of the jailer, populal
official, so inflamed the minds Of the
people Of Shelby county that a fan
ard impartial trial would be out Of
the question. The state declined tc
contest the application and Judge
Richards granted the change, explain.
ing that from evidence introduced and
the fact that the state refused to con,
test he thought the trial should be
held in an adjoining county
The defendants received the news
without emotion.
The Shelby county officials openly
expressed fear that if the cases
were tried in Shelby county they
would experience the same trouble in
getting a jury as took place in the
Frey case, charging criminal assault
The change of venue removes the
cases from the jurisdiction of the
Shelby courty courts and places them
in the jurisdiction of the Upton
county tribunal, but s. o. Bates, at
torney general, and his assistant
John Shea, will prosecute the cases
for the state,
The three prisoners will be held in
custody in Memphis until the date Of
trial, which will be fixed by the Tip
ton court, and will then be removed
to the Upton Jail under heavy guard
until the end of the trial. In case OF
conviction tho prisoners viii be car
ried straight 70 Nashville.
Upton county was selected by at
torneys for the defense as the proper
place to hold the trial.
Shaw and Kelley are held on q
charge Of murder in the first degree,
growing out Of the death Of Reeves,
Mrs. Aida Shaw is held as an access
sorry before the fact in the murder.
Galloway probably viii ask for a
severance in Kelley's. case before the
Tipton court.
Kelley, Shaw, Clyde A. Hamilton
and Joseph E. Hatton were indicted
on four charges of highway robbery.
They were arraigned and pleaded not
guilty and one week after their return
to the Jail to await trial, Kelley, Shaw
and Hamilton escaped, Hamilton
fatally shooting : aer Reeves while
making his getawe. 'amilton later
was shot and killedttGnA Shona, Miss,
by Mississippi officials while resist
ing arrest, and Kelley and Shaw were
arrested and brought back to Mem
phs. Mrs. Shaw was later arrested
and returned to Memphis.
The theory Of the state is that Mrs.
Shaw Struggled two guns into jail to
Shaw, one Of which Hamilton * al
legged to have used in killing Reeves
and the other of which Kelley is al
legged to have stated was left in a
box car at Winona when he was ar
rested.
Kelley's father, mother and Mrs.
Kelley's nurse and the defendants
little sister sat next to him when he
was brought into court yesterday to
hear the motion.
Both Kelley and Shaw were COM
posed while witnesses were being
heard as whether or not they could
get fair trial in Shelby county, but
Mrs. Shaw wept. Kelley's father and
mother also wept and Kelley kept his
arm around his mother.
Pleas Of guilty were withdrawn as
to all three defendants for the pur-
pose Of presenting to the court the
motions for the change Of venue.
A. B. Galloway read the motion for
his clients, in which he stated that
the murder Of Jailer George r.
Reeves so inflamed the public and
prejudiced the people against Shaw
that fair trial in Shelby county
would be impossible. He said that
even mob law had been limited. Gal
loway quoted Sheriff Perry's testi-
mony in the argument for a change
of venue for Joseph E. Hatton. who
was convicted of highway robbery
Saturday, declaring that Perry said
he thought Hatton could get fair
trial, but didn't believe Kelley could.
Kelley's motion for change Of venue
was read for all three defendants,
the matter being the same in all.