Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-07-04
LACK DEPENDENCE"

Robert Love, Lee Null, Forest
Boheler, Fred Sinclair and Forest
Ham, white men living near Symrna,
will not face Charges ranging from
moonshining TO highway robbery in
the July court of general sessions, as
stated in an article in The Yorkville
ENQUIRER of May II, telling of war
rants issued against the men charg-
ing them with crimes ranging from
'moonshining to highway robbery AL
n preliminary hearing held before
Magistrate r. L. A. Smith of Broad
River township in Hickory Grove
Friday the men were dismissed for
lack of evidence against them, all OF
the witnesses named on warrants
against the men stating that they had
been honestly mistaken"
Nearly two months have elapsed
since charges were preferred against
the men and it was evident ut the
preliminary hearing last Friday that
they had lost no time in preparing Il
perfect case. In fact, they proVeC
themselves good lawyers and wonder
full adopts in smoothing things over
According to Magistrate Fred &.
Black of York township who attended
the hearing before the Broad River
magistrate, they told Attorney Thos.
T.. Mellow of Yorkville who was en-
ployed to represent them for fee OF
$3.50 that they did not consider his
services worth that figure since they
had collected the evidence necessary
to dismiss them and Mr.. Mellow was
paid $75 for his trouble instead OF
$50.
The principal witnesses against the
men at the time of their arrest appear
to have been one r. +. G. Pruitt of the
Smyrna section and one VIII Carroll
also of the same vicinity. Pruitt S
original story was that while walking
through the woods near Hunters s
Spring on April "a, he saw Forest
Boheler, Robert Love and Lee Null
making liquor. Later he told his
friend Will Carroll about 1t and the
two decided to go to the still after a
little liquor. While on the journey
they came upon a 80 gallon barrel OF
moonshine in the woods-just stumbled
on il, and since it was not labeled they
took il for their own.
Later, to be exact, according to
Pruitt's original story on April ~,
Boheler, Love and Null found Carroll
and beat him and robbed him. Later
they found Pruitt at the home of Jay
Moss and forced him into an auto
mobile, being reinforced in the mean
time by Fred Sinclair and Forest
Ham. Then the barrel of liquor was
recovered although 1t was sixteen gal
Ions short. Pruitt informed the Of
fcers. Robert Love and Lee Null
were put under bond as were also
Forest Boheler, Fred Sinclair and
Forest Ham.
But when the preliminary came
about last Friday there were no wit
nesseS against the men. According to
Magistrate Black there were not "siX
lines of evidence" 1t was a regular
love feast between Carroll and Pruitt
and the others. There will be no
further prosecution unless the York
county grand jury should see fit TO
look into it next week and there is
little probability that ne grand jury
will do anything.
Lee Null, according to Constable
Horace Johnson, who swore out the
warrants but who was unable 10 at
tehd the preliminary before Magis-
tratc Smith, is now under hnnd in
Cherokee county on charge OF vio-
ldllnS inc pIOUlDlllOn l'lWS.
According to one of those who at
tended the preliminary in Hickory
Grove Friday, the town had on a cir
Gus day air, so many people being
present ana the magistrates Office
was packed and jammed Witnesses
who gave the original testimony to
the officers on which testimony the
warrants were based went off in COM
pany with defendants, all in the best
of spirits and apparently the best of
friends while one more farce was
added to the record against state en-
fOrcement of the liquor laws.
Magistrate II. i. y. Smith of Hick-
Dry Grove stated yesterday that Pruitt
and Carroll would he presented to the
York county grand jury next week on
charges of transporting liquor. they
having admitted that they transported
the barrel of liquor found in the
woods. II is likely that there will be
other developments in connection with
the case next week.