San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-17
FOUR
FOR MURDER
Of 7. LERNA
Men Said to Have Been
at Dance Satur-
day Night.
ALL DENY GUILT
Held in Solitary Confine-
ment and Questioned
Separately.
ALL DENY GUILT

Charges of murder were filed in JUS
tice of the Peace X. Neil Campbclfs
court Wednesday morning against
TOUR men whom Bexar county officers
believe are connected with the killing
of Tcodoro Lerma. I'll years old Next
can farmer. who was murdered at his
home Sunday morning. Two OF the
men arrested were brought in Tues
day while Deputy Sheriffs Antonio
Diaz and John Subira brought the
other two in carly Wednesday MORN
ing. Chief Deputy Alphonse Newton
declared that he believes his deputies
have captured the right men.
Those against whom charges were
filed are Remigio Casanova, Jim Me
Gee, Domingo Cara and Juan Garne.
All -four were being held in solitary
confinement Wednesday morning in
order that officers might question
them separately. Up to noon. ac.
cording to deputies, none of the men
had admitted any connection with the
case.
The two men taken Tuesday, Deputy
Subira said, were captured at East
End. in San Antonio. Those taken
Wednesday were captured near Ell
II
cipating in the arrest.
According to Deputy Subira the ar
rests resulted from the following OF a
clue unearthed Sunday morning when
officers responded to the call ut the
Harvey Beck farm on the Gonzales
road. where Lerma was murdered.
Four men. the officers said. were seen
at dance carly Saturday night but
disappeared. 1t was by following the
prints of n truck tire and later lOcat-
fected.
A Brutal Murder.
The murder of Lerma. which oc-
CURED shortly after midnight Sun
day morning, was one of the most
brutal in the history of Bexar coun-
ty. According TO the statement of
Lerma's mother. who is 30 years old,
she and her son had retired early on
Saturday night. after the children had
gone to a nearby dance. During the
night she heard her son groan and
" hen she arose she found n man ly-
ing in her room and another man
in the next room rummaging around
with n lamp.
Before getting Up, she had seen a
man fire two shots and another as
her son fell into her room. She did
not know at the time that ii was her
son who had been shot, and rushed
into the next room. wheer he slept, to
wake him IN. Finding that he was
not in his bed. she went back and
found him lying on the floor dead.
The intruder. she claims. then
slammed the door intervening and
proceeded to ransack the house. TAX
ing more than $500 from a trunk in
her sons room. When officers reach
ed the scene they found that the in
truder had left new ten-foot hemp
rope and assumed that he had in
tended tying LPrma nm while he robbed
him. Ii was their theory that Ierma
had recognized his assailant and that
the latter. realizing this. shot him.
Measure Footprints.
Tracks led from the house to a
nearby field. where they were joined
by tracks of three other men. the dep
uties said. There also were tracks of
an automobile leading to thee road.
Taking the measurements of the foot
prints and the pattern of the automo-
bile tire, the deputies began their
search
When they had ascertained that
four men in truck had attended the
dance Saturday night and departed
early. they set out to locate the quar-
tet. They found a truck. they claim.
which had tires corresponding TO the
prints found ct the scene of the muir
der. They then arrested two of the
men. compared the prints of their shoes
with those found at the murder scene
and found that they tailed. The shoes
of all four men. the deputies assert.
correspond to those footprints.