The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-06-02
CUNNINGHAM HELD
AS A WITNESS In
THE PETERS CASE
Arrest Was Made as Result of
an. Anonymous Letter Sent to
New York Newspaper.
SAID HE KNEW ABOUT
THE SHOOTING BY WARD
When Confronted by District
Attorney and Officers He
Tells Another Story.
tRx rhs Assoelated Preasl

WHITE PLAINS. y. Y. June IL
]. ]. Cunningham, OF New York to-
night was arrested and is being held
in the county jail here as material
witness in the case of Walter S. Ward.
wealthy bakers son. who Confesse /
Staying Clarence Peters.
Cunningham. whose name has not
before figured n the case, va : arrest
ed at hotel NJ A.Din in New Y 'r1l City
and Immediately brought here. He is
the first arrest in the case which has
attracted nationwide attentiol sIrce
Peters body was found ut lonely
spot near the Kensico Reservoir on
May 16. District Attorney Weeks is
sued the following statement concern
ing the arrest.
Cunningham is held as a material
witness. He was dug up by the New
York American, as the re 'uls Cf an
anonymous lette-. He had bse1 trailed
for three days.
lie had told the American 4 story
and when confronted by the sheriff
and myself he told another storFa lie
sgsa that the nan said 20 n. u oeen
wounded by Ward was br lught down
to his mothers home in the Bronx IN
touring car and was later driven
away
Mention or tae wounded naa;i is In
reference to one OF the Il, ny tales il-
xestigated by cal offiat4,s to tie
effect that Peters was not the only
victim of the gun battle which Ward
claims to have engaged in with three
supposed blackmailers at the tir1e
Peters was killed.
Cunningham, Weeks said, does not
claim to have been witness to the
shooting of Peters and the man he
declares to have wounded at the same
time, but asserts that he knew of the
scheduled meeting between Ward and
the supposed blackmoiler several days
before it's occurrence.
Jack the. Speeder' who. with "Caar-
lie Ross, accompanied Peters the
night Of May Is. according to Wards
story, was the man wounded at the
time Peters was Killed, Cunningham
is said to have told Sheriff Werner.
The prisoner claims to be we'll ac-
quainted with both Ross" and Jack
the Speeder" for whom the authorities
have been looking the past two weeks.
The only new clue was a report which
reached District Attorney Weeks that an
employe in the Bronz plant of the Ward
Baking Company had seen the mysferfv
Gus couple Charley Ross and Jack
who We're alleged by Ward 10 have been
with Peters when the shooting occurred
This employe, who said that the baker
often had received the pair in his private
office; told of once having taken a tele-
phone message for "the fellow who says
he is a police commissioner of New
Rochelle" to the effect that I'VE want
the money ne owes us on that debt and
we want Il quick"
In New York. Ward was confronted
with a man known as NAT Ross" who
received suspended sentence last sum-
mer' after having pleaded guilty to at
tempted extortion in another case. This
man, who voluntarily appeared in ths
district attorneys Offices for examination,
was not the Charley Ross" he knew,
the baker affirmed
IN Los Angeles, California. was located
Miss Martha Kendall, a modiste, who
charged that the baker once had broken
into her apartment and attempted to
kidnap her, and that suit which she
had brought alleging criminal conspiracy
had been settled out of court.