Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-09-05

Three Of the cases resulting from
! the activities OF federal prohibition
/ enforcement officers and Marshal w.
J. Skehan's squad Of Augusta police
on the Saturday before Labor Day.
were disposed of in municipal court
Thursday morning. There was an
Hother case on a similar charge OF IL
| legal possession which was continued
| from Tuesday morning, so that Judge
Cony had an exceptionally busy SEES
sion which carried through the noon
hour.
| The case against Alex Roy Of IL
! Lalhrel street, on a warrant taken out
by City Marshal w. ]. Skehan was
placed on file as the court did not
/ believe there was sufficient evidence
I to warrant trial.
Napoleon Poulin. who with his
| partner Romeo Roy conducts bak-
/ cry in the basement floor OF the
| house at IL Laurel street, was ar
raigned on a charge Of illegal pos
session, and after hearing consider
able evidence presented by the
States witnesses and by the defense,
Judge Cony ordered this case placed
cormisr Case Continued
The States testimony in the case
against Wallace Cormier Of IL Laurel
street was all presented when the
respondent was arraigned, but the
attorney for the respondent asked
| the court for a continuance until
| Tuesday, September 8, to enable the
! defense to secure witnesses, and
Judge Cony granted the continuance
| These three cases were the result
| of the visit Of Marshal Skehan to-
J gether with Officers Gipson and
Burke Of the Augusta police and q
| federal officer to the Cormier pre-
misses last Saturday. The testimony
| in the Cormier case was to the ef-
| feet that as the officers rounded the
corner from Water street onto Lau-
rel. a woman was heard to call out
| warning to someone In the Cormier
home. On their arrival at the house
the door was slammed and locked
in the officers faces and it was
necessary to force an entrance.
The local police and the federal
agent all testified to finding the
household in a state of upheaval with
the members Of the Cormier family
busily engaged in what the officers
allege was an effort to destroy evil
dences Of the presence in the house
! of intoxicating liquors. One member
OF the family was seen to throw a
gunny sack out a rear window, and
investigation of the ground below
brought the sack to light containing
two alcohol cans in which a small
Several empty bottles and a ten-gal-
Ion key Of home made wine was also
found on the premises and seized by
! the officers.
Cormier was released under the
, same bail in the sum Of $1,000 for his
appearance next Tuesday when the
defense will be presented.
PouIin Case Placed on File
From the evidence presented in the
Cormier case 1t was evident that the
court considered that Alex Roy and
Napoleon Poulin, respondents in two
! separate cases on charges Of illegal
possession were more or less the vic
Tins of circumstances in that they
were occupants of the building own.
ed by Cormier. and their arrest fol-
lowed the finding of alcohol cans in
their quarters by the raiding party
Marshal Skeha'n and Federal Off
| Ger Chapman were the state witness
SEES against Poulin. and testified tC
| the finding of some twelve cans ir
which the odor Of alcohol remained
tucked away under the bakery ovens
| They also seized a Is gallon kee
which was about half full of liquiC
which the officers were convinced
was beer,
Besides the respondent. his part
ner, Romeo Roy, testified on the
staud for the defense and both ex.
planned the presence of the alcoho
cans as some which they had pur-
chased from boys and which they
used as containers for the sale and
delivery Of malt. They denied that
they had ever lad intoxicating Ii.
quor on the premises for the purpose