The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-06-22
Verdicts of Guilty In One
and Defendant is Freed
In Other
GUILTY PARTIES TAKE
APPEAL HIGH COURT
Postoffice Cases Are Also
Taken Up and Disposed
of Wednesday


> the adjournment of the week before
!, Some time was lost in preliminary
+ consideration of a civil case resulting
from the tangle at Eunice over the
electric light plant of that municipal
9 ity. This case was finally disposed o
but the court will return to Opelou
; sas this week and hear the case be
fore adjourning for the summer vaca
= ton
y The postoffice cases were triet
i Wednesday. One came from the par
! ish of Beauragard while the other or
! iginated in Lafayette. The first nam
ed was against man who is the hus
band of a woman postmaster at some
small place in Beauregard. The
charge was theft of postal funds. The
government failed to make out its case
as it was brought out that there was
no intent to steal and that the post
office department did not lose cent.
: The jury brought in verdict of ac-
quittal.
The Lafayette case was little more
complicated. Mrs. Sonnier, who had
4 served as charwoman in the postoffice
building at Lafayette for several years,
had been indicted on the charge of
stealing parcel post packages. Both
sides put up a pretty strong fight and
while the evidence was somewhat cons
( vincing it was shown also that the
package stolen was of less than three
! dollars in value Prominent citizens
of Lafayette appeared as witnesses
both for and against the accused. The
jury brought in verdict of guilty and
the defendant was sentenced to serve
thirty days in the Lafayette parish
Jail Notice of an appeal was filed.
Paul Chachere, Onezine Landry and
Lee Wyble, charged with having in
possession and operating moonshine
still-the biggest case of that nature
before the court-was set on the cal
endar. Lee Wyble was not called for
trial and his case was severed from
that of the other two. The two ac-
cused went to trial and soma tive was
consumed in selecting jury. AS the
case not finished Thursday it went
over over until Friday morning. Con-
siderable evidence both for and |
against the accused parties was pre-
sented to the jury and the case given
in their hands Friday at near the noon
hour.
It appeared that the, jury was dead
locked and bystanders predicted mis-
trial. However, the jury finally agreed T
and brought in a verdict of guilty and
the defendants were sentenced to
serve six months each in jail, one at
Shreveport, the other at Mansfield.
Their attorneys filed notice Of an ap-
peal and furnished bond.
This case resulted from the acct
dental discovery of the giant twin cop
per stills on the farm of Henry Las
trapes, two miles east of Opelousas,
last November. Mr.. Lastrapes made
the partial discovery of the apparatus
in cabin on the farm and report
ed it to the sheriff Immediately who
went out and found the cabin desert
ed and the door locked. He forced
an entrance and the stills. oil stove,
barrel Of oil, ten fifty-gallon barrels
of fermenting mash and other appra-s
tus was discovered The mash was
destroyed and the stills and a part OF
the ten gallons of whisky found
brought to Opelousas to be used as
evidence. The serial number on the
oil drum gave him line on which
to work and it did not take long to get
hold of sufficient details to warrant
the several arrests.
Side John, Syrian merchant in La
fayette, was brought to trial on the
charge of selling intoxicating liquor
The evidence showed he had sold
rum" Of high voltage to two seven
youths and when they
we're arrested and the liquor found
IN them they confessed they bought it
rom the Syrian. The federal prohi-
oition agent at Opelousas was notifi-
ID and he proceeded to Lafayette and
n company with the police force of
hat city raid the two stores of the
Syrian and found large quantity of
LII kinds Of drunk-producing liquors
md extracts. His residence was al
10 raided but the court ruled out of
he proceedings any referenc to this
,art of the raid for it was established
hat the search warrant did not cover
he residence and the officers entered
t without due authority.
Late in the afternoon the jury was
,iven the case and it required but
rief time for it to report a verdict Of
lot guilty to the court, Wlhereupon,
tide John was discharged from Gus
ody and the officials ordered to re-
tore to him his large stock of liquors
which had been seized in the raid.
Gil Vidrine, opelousas boy who
loaded guilty two weeks ago to sell
1g whisky and who was sentenced to