The Mankato free press., 1922-12-01
SENTENCED TO PRISON.
s.saits WIS Held Up wabash'

ssad;ts Wins Held Up Wabasha
Sheriff Go Over the "Road."
Wabasha, November 25.-Charles
Thomas, thirty five years OLD and
Lewis Barbee, thirty, are today
awaiting confinement in the stats
penitentiary at Saltwater for terms
not to exceed ten years and five
years respectively following their
conviction in district court at Wa
basha on a charge of robbery in
connection with the hold up of Sher-
iff Edward Fitzgerald on June %.
Sentence was imposed late yester-
day by Judge c. e. Callaghan. Thorn
as WAS convicted of robbery in the
first degree, while Barbee pleaded
guilty to robbery in the third de-
gree.
Frank James, third member OF
the trio. who was acquitted Of com
plicity in the hold up, was later TAX
en- to Faribault to answer charge of
automobile theft He was discharged
after examination for want of suf
ficient evidence ~ EH4 es-
The three men were arrested BY
farmers. and members of a sheriff's
posse following the hold up of the
Wabasha county officer. The hold !
up occurred when Sheriff Fitzgerald
went into the hills to investigate the
presence of a stolen automobile.
Thomas emerged from the brush,
testimony showed, and held up the
officer at the point of a gun while
Barbee removed the sheriff's revol-
yer from his pocket. Sheriff Fita-
gerald was compelled to accompany
his captors for several miles through
the hills before he was released.
James, according to evidence pre-
sented at the trial. took no active
part in the holdup.
James and Barbee were appre-
hended the day following the hold up.
Thomas was c"ptured after three
day hunt vrll ondeG in an exchange
of shots y the sheriff's posse
when he " aally located in a
rurai scheol Elba early on
Sunday mon
The auton , found at the scene
of the hold-Sp o it was learned, had
been stolen ?t Taribault. The car
was returned 10 its owner. Attempts
to fasten the theft on James after
his acquitta' IN the hold up charge
failed. Each member of the trio ad-
mitted a belief that the car had beeriS
stolen, according to County Attorney
John r. Foley, who conducted the
prosecution. but each denied a part
in the theft.
Ine cOnVlctlOn and sentencing OF
Thomas and Barbee is regarded by
officials as the final chapter in one
of the most sensational hold -ups aud
pursuits in the history of the county.
Two men were sentenced late yes
terday, while sentence of a third
man was deferred, in connection with
the robbery of the Fred O'Reiliy
sporting goods store at wabasha IL
August. Al! pleaded guilty to a
charge of grand larceny. Henry
Morey was sentenced to serve not to
exceed five years In prison, and Harry
Taylor not to exceed three years
Sentence in the case OF Hugh Dur
ham was deferred. Waiter Schinn,
who was also indicted in connection
with the robbery escaped from the
county jail in September, and is still!
at liberty.
David c. Mckenzie Of Lake City,
internal revenue collector IN that
section and former sheriff of Wa
baGha county. was acquitted of an Of
fense against an eleven year old girl
when a jury yesterday afternoon re
turned a verdict of not guilty aft,
del1berating al; hour and a half.
The parents OF the girl and several
witnesses We're called by the state in
support of the charges. after whici.
the defendant testified in his own.
behalf. He denied the truth OF ~
accusation, and asserted that he
Charges were ''fcne -up"