Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-05-26
SWANNER, ROSE
GUILTY; CRANE,
CLARK FREED
Sentence Deferred BY
Judge Hutche son;
Convicted Men On
Probation

John Swanner and Jesse Rose, two
Of the four defendants in the WillacY
county intimidation case. were found
guilty By the jury IN federal district
court Saturday morning.
County Judge A. B. Crane and
Archie Clark, the other defendants,
we're acquitted.
The verdict was returned shortly
before noon Saturday. the case hav-
ing gone to the jury at 1 o'clock FRI
day night.
Judge Hutcheson deferred sentences
placing the convicted men upon pro-
baton for five years, the district at
torney announcing that the govern.
mcnt would enter no objection.
Both defendants were convicted ON
the second count in the indictment,
the maximum penalty for which
would be six years IN the federal
penitentiary and u fine Of $1,000.
The verdict Of the jury closes @
case that has been pending almost a
year. The defendants were charged
with conspirlng to intimidate IA. u.
Hart and John II. Currie, witnesses
for the government an the peonaga
case tried az Corpus Christi in Feb
ruary, 1927, IN which Sheriff Ray
mond Teller and three other Willacy
county residents were convicted.
Two indictments were returned i'm
the intimidation case az the May
1927, term OF the federal court, and
trial Of tho first case at the De-
cember term resulted IN hung jury.
The cases were then consolidated and
an indictment returned BY the Laredo
grand jury in March, the case being
called for trial at the May term irf
Brownsville.
The trial opened Thursday morn
ing, and night sessions were held
Thursday and Friday nights, over no
witnesses being examined. Argue
ments were completed Friday night,
the case going to the jury at Ia
o'clock.
Deny Conspiracy
Archie Clark was the first of tha
defendants placed on the stand inn
mediately after the noon recess Fri
DAY. He vigorously denied he had
ever entered into a conspiracy To in
timidate Hart and Curie, and asserted
he did not know at that time they
had been witnesses at the trial az tha
peonage cases at Corpus Christi or
had any connection with the investi-
cation preceding the indictment OF
Sheriff Teller and others. Clark was
appointed deputy sheriff BY Teller
on January /. 1927, having served
previously az a peace officer IN tha
community in which he resides, sew.
eral miles east Of Raymondville.
John Swanner, also a deputy sheriff
and acting as night watchman at
Raymondville. stated he had entered
into no conspiracy, and that his
trouble with Hart was purely OF
personal nature. He admitted hav-
ing struck Hart, but declared he did
not warn him 20 leave town. His
version of the affair was that he had
told Hart: 81 hear you have been
talking about me and the boys in
their graves. ! will give you 36
hours % leave off talking about me"
The government had claimed that
Swanncr had given Hart 36 hours 10
leave town.
Swanner stated that some tins
prior to the affair he had seized
Hart's car. driven by n man named
Anderson. and had found a quart OF
tequila therein. Anderson WIS ar
rested and the car afterwards re-
turned % Hart
Relative 10 the statement made by
Herndon before Judge Crane, Swan
ner insisted that Herndon dictated il,
and that it substantiated his version
of the affair with Hart. Rose and
Herndon were tho only witnesses Of
the assault upon Hart. Swanner also
stated that he had heard Rose tell
Currie not to speak to him, and that
Continued on page eight