The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-11-23
GUILTY Of MURDER
IN SECOND DECREE
Harris Goes Before Judge and En-
ters Plea of Guilty in the Sec
ond Degree on the Advice
of His Attorney

The trial of John Harris for tn,
murder Of Claude Silvers which wa.
slated to follow the trial of New
ton Stanley, acquitted of the mur
der of Bonofacio Yragui, wa!
brought to halt yesterday after
noon when Harris, accompanied by
his attorney, Patrick McCarren oi
Reno, appeared begfore Judge Cal
lahan -and entered plea of guilty
to murder in the second degree
which followed conference be
tween the district attorney and
Harris counsel.
Judge Callahan accepted the plea
but postponed the passing of sent
ence upon Harris to the second day
of December, when Harris will be
arraigned for sentence, which may
in the discretion of the court. re-
suit in Harris being sent to the pen
for life; or he may get off with
the minimum sentence of ten years
The plea of Harris came in the
nature of a surprise to some, as il
had been rumored that his counsel
was preparing to make fight for
his client with insanity as the plea
for defense.
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how he had got his hand hurt, that
he had been shot by a sheep herder,
but that he did not know whether
he had hit the herder or not. Ru-
sow rendered first aid in the binding
up of the wounded hand and then
Stanley got on his horse and started
for Cedarville to have the hand
properly dressed. There he went
to DR.. Kennedy, but as the hand
and wrist had badly swollen the
doctor directed him to go on to
Alturas, where he could have a
proper X-ray examination made and
the wound expertly treated. Stanley
proceeded to Alturas and went direct
to the office of the sheriff, where he
related the same story to the sheriff
that he told upon the stand, and
the latter took him in. charge, called
the county physician, had the
wounded hand properly attended to
and then notified the sheriff at this
point that he had Stanley in Gus
tody.
On the way to Cedarville and
prior to arriving at Cherry Greek,
Stanley met up with Pat Heard
who accompanied him to Cherry
Creek, where Rev. Bruce and a
party out gathering chokecherries,
were camped. Stanley said that he
had no talk with the reverend, of
the nature that the reverend had
testified to, and in his denial he
was fully corroborated by John Van
Riper and Pat Heard, both of whom
were present and with Stanley at
all times during his half-hour stay
at the camp, waiting for Fred Phil
lips to come with an automobile
for the purpose of taking Stanley
to Alturas. The cross-examination
of Newton Stanley was conducted
by Attorney Brandon but as the
witness had, unquestionably, told
the truth, the whole truth, and moth
ing but the truth, nothing was
brought out as the result of the
cross-examination that affected the
direct testimony an iota.
AS a matter of fact, summing up
of all the evidence and testimony
introduced, both by the counsel
employed to convict and the counsel
employed to secure an acquittal, re-
solved. itself into nothing of any
particular value, with the testi-
mony of Newton Stanley eliminated.
Newton Stanley is the man who
told to the world that he had killed
Bonofacio Yragui and as he was
the only living witness he was the
only one who could give any testi-
mony of value that would enable
the jurors to determine whether or
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