The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-23
MORT POINTS OUT
WELLS As MAN WHO
TIED HIM To PIPE
Detective Says Sugar Was On
Gloves Found in Moon
Automobile

Trial of James w. (CannonbalD
Wells before Judge John Mckinley
for connection with the robbery of
the Hill Grocery company office on
May IA is expected to consume We'd
nesday and possibly extend over
until Thursday morning. Every inch
of ground was desperately contested
Tuesday by John Altman and Roder-
lex Beddow, defense attorneys, and
the trial gave promise of developing
one of the hottest legal battles OF
the year.
Three witnesses, ]. B. Hill, c. S.
Mont, watchman, captured by the
yeggmen and handcuffed to water
pipe while they looted the safe, and
b. F. Hubbard, city detective, who
with T. A. Riley. arrested Wells on
the morning of the robbery. took the
stand Tuesday. A large number of
witnesses have been summoned to
testify Wednesday.
c. S. Mort, Waterman, Identified
Wells fro mthe stand as one of the
two men who overpowered him and
handcuffed him to the pipe while the
vault and safes were being opened.
Under cross questioning, however, he
admitted he did not announce an i'm
mediate identification when he CON
fronted Wells at police headquarters
on the afternoon following the crime.
Mort said he thought Wells was the
man at the time, but deferred MAX
ing a positive statement until he had
had time to think it over and study
it out"
O O O
Severely Cross Examined.
Placed under stern. grilling by
Altman. Mort was questioned about
circumstances of the robbery and of
his Identification of Wells at police
-A,t,
about a number of circumstances and
made contradictory statements about
some of the details.
According to Mort, Wells was the
man, who. accompanied by another.
entered shed in which he was
reading outside the Hill warehouse
and assisted in overpowering him
after calling Hello Dad" from the
door. After handwriting him to the
pipe, he said, the men left him and
he soon heard noises coming from the
vault.
J. B. Hill, one of the Hill store
owners, first took the stand. Hill
related the condition in which he had
found the office after the robbery
He said a number of sacks of white
sugar had burst open when apparent
ly placed in the vault to deader
noise of the eXplo and that sugar
lay all over the floors around the
vault.
City Detective Hubbard was the
third man to testify. Solicitor jim
Davis introduced as evidence with
the testimony of Hubbard the con-
tents of hand bag found in the
Moon roadster bearing a Florida taG
in which Wells was captured. Tive
revolvers. a box of cartridges. high
powered rifle. quantity of explosive
caps, some drills. a punch, n greasy
pair of gloves, a pair of shoes, q
shirt and suit of clothes were
among the articles shown.
Find Sugar On Gloves.
When examined following Wells
capture, grains of white sugar were
visible on the gloves. shoes and suit
Hubbard testified. They were damn
apparently with perspiration at the
time. it was said. Hubbard was close
ly questioned by the defense In re,
gard to what had taken place wher
Mort viewed Wells in the office o,
Police Chief Fred McDuff.
Every possible inch of ground wa.
fought over during the selection o
n jury at the morning session. On,
of the two rose to object at every
legal technicality that presented it
self During the afternoon objections
were raised over each individual ar.
tiele exhibited from the hand bags
The defense won a point at the
opening of the afternoon session when
1t successfully objected to leaving ar
electric drill, rifle, rope, two crow
bars and the two suit cases where
they might be seen by the jury wher
it entered the jury room.
The defense attempted to secure {
continuance of the trial when it wa,
called Monday afternoon. INSULT
cient time to prepare its case ant