The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-08-16
MEMBERS OF MOB
BACK In COLUMBIA
ACTION IN GEORGIA WATCHED
WITH INTEREST.
Mother Of Gappins Tells Sheriff Heise
of Conference Sunday-Omters
Make No Move.
The State, 18th.

The State, 18th.
Defeated in their attempt to stoSm
the Richmond county jail at Augusta,
Ca, and lynch c. o. Fox and Jesse
Gappins, self-confessed murderers of
William Brazell,( 19 year old taxi
driver, hundreds of Columbians, al
legged members of the mob, returned
to Columbia yesterday to wait fur
Their developments in Sheriff Plum
kett's tour of Georgia in an effort to
locate a Jail in which to lodge the
TWO prisoners, who were spirited from
the Augusta prison a few hours be-
fore the masked men arrived to de-
mand them. A few automobiles,
loaded with men, said to be heavily
armed, are still patroling roads lead
ing into Columbia and Lexington and
threats of mob violence, are still to
be heard. "We'll wait until we get
them," is apparently the opinion of
the men concerned, according to per-
sons known to have conversed with
them since their return.
Sheriff Plunkett apparently was
successful in eluding all members of
the Columbia party, despite the fact
that numbers q Columbia mer had
been in the Georgia city since early
Wednesday afternoon, awaiting the
arrival Of darkness and of reinforce
ments. The sheriff in leaving the
Jail with his prisoners shortly after
10 o'clock was pursued by car
which had been parked block from
the Jail all afternoons. This automo-
bile is said to have returned to Co.
lumbia yesterday afternoon, it's driv-
er reporting that, ignorant of the
Georgia roads, he had lost the Au-
gusta officers and , two prisoners
shortly after leaving Augusta. Plans
had been made, it was said yesterday,
had the raid on the Augusta jail
proved successful to bring the two
men back to the spot about three
miles from Leesville, where the mutt
lated body of the young transfer
driver was found, and there kill
them. -,
Car to Savannah.
When it was learned that the two
men had been placed in the Savan-
nah Jail to be later moved elsewhere
since the Savannah prison was already
crowded beyond capacity cars are
said to have been dispatched to Saw
annah to- await developments there,
following the sheriff should he have,
made dash for another jail. =
Sheriff Alex Heise has had a: long
conference with the mother of Jesse
Gappins, one of the two men now held
in Georgia, Mrs. Gappins advancing
the theory that S. J. Kirby, whose
confession led to the arrest of the
three men, was the moving spirit be-
hind the plot to kill young Brazell
and take his car, Kirby visited her
home to hold long conference with
Jesse Gappins Sunday afternoon, Mrs.
Gappins said, the two men talking
in secret for nearly two or three
hours. Her son, after Kirby left the
house, Mrs. Gappins told the sheriff,
told her that he was going to leave
on trip that night and that he
would write her in about two weeks
and advising her in the meanwhile
not to be worried. 1t was at this con-
ference, Mrs. Gappins believes, that
the murder-robbery plot was engi-
neered and her SON involved in the
scheme.
sKiifoy has a particularly unsavory
reputation among neighbors and
ccvnty officers, and Sheriff Heise
stated yesterday that it was his belief
that when the entire truth was re-
SCobSQ lIldI IL WOulO US, 1OuAu LlIoI
Kirby was considerably more involved
in the crime than was admitted IN his
confession. Kirby, in making his
statement, told story of how he had
been forced by Fox and Gappins to
secure the car, thinking that it was
to be used to take the three men to
'.get some girls near Lexington,
Kirby engaged BrazelPs car, he said,
under compulsion and then drove to
the Seaboard depot and picked up the
other two men.
See Weak Link
This, officers think, is a weak link
in his statement, absolving himself
of blame of the killing, it being point
,,othino 70 howe