Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-12-05
JURY In McELR0Y
CASE DISAGREES--
II FOR ACQULTTAL
Criminal Cases Take Up Ma
jor Portion of December
Court Term

More than the usual interest AZ
tendant to the ordinary terms Of dis
trict court was accorded the OPENING
of the December session here last
Tuesday, where the Mcrlroy case
was scheduled as the opening case Oh
the calendar.
Leo McElroy, the defendant in the
case, was charged with committing a
lewd and lasciyious act again t a sev-
en- year old child. The alleged act
was supposed to have been committed
in McElroy four years ago at a tine
when MeElroy was suppo ID to have
been working at tie csild's parents,
Mr.. and Mrs. Frank Welch.
The state in prosecuting The case
asserted the alleged crime was com
mitted in a coal shed bacl. Of the
store at McElroy, contending also
that the child at that time, beng I'M
able to understand the seriousness of
the act, had made no mention Of it
until later, when Mrs. Welshs sus
picions of McElroy's conduct had
caused her to question the child.
The defense, while denying en-
phatieally the damaging allegations,
based their defense principally
upon the alibi that the defendant
was not working at McElroy at the
time the crime was to have been
committed.
Th case was given to the jury at
eleven o'clock Wedncsd morning
and terminated in a disagreement at
five o'clock Thursday afternoon, the
final vote being eleven for acquittal
and one for conviction. 1t is reported
that the first and several subsequent
ballotings resulted in a tie vote, the
trend gradually drifting in favor of
acquittal.
County Attorney Grant Balleweu
and assistant j. G. Wagner prosaeu-
ted the case and A. G. Erickson, re-
presented the defendant. Both sides
were handicapped in handling their
side of the case as four Intervening
years between the alleged commis
sion of the crime and it's prosecution
made the data pertaining to the case
vague and innofectual.
What disposition VIII be made az
the case is not known at This time.
Dewey Keller Pleads Guilty
The second case on the criminal
calendar, State Us. John and Dewey
Keller, charging the defendants with
stealing grain from G. NJ. Monson
near Raymond, last September, was
simplified BY the Plea OF guilty en- the
part of Dewey Kcllor, who assumed
sole responsibility for the theft
John Keller was released. Dewey
was given sentence Of six months
at Deer Lodge.
Huebner Case Continued
The case of State VS. Charles Hueb-
ner, charged with selling liquor to
minors, was continued to the next
term Of district court, as the defen-
dant is at present at Great Falls
serving a jail sentence for violation
Of the prohibition laws.
Jorgensrude Freed
State vs.. John Jofgcnsrude which
was on trail today completed tbe
criminal calendar. Jorgensrude was
charged with selling liquor to ininors
the case being an aftermath Of 4 bur
glary case in which the minors affor-
ted were charged with breaking into
a Raymond store last winter and
stealing quantity Of merchandise.
! The defense for The boys in IT'S Plea
for leniency claimed thai tie lads
were drunk when tAey co.s "a the
crime and this led to arrest of
Jorgensrude as the Liquor reAser.
Jorgensrude was defended by attor-
neys T. W. Greer and c. NJ. Babcock
and the county attorney represented
the state. After about two hours de-
liberation the jury brought in YER
dict of not guilty.
Many Civil Cases Settled
| This completes the criminal cases
docketed and the remainder of the
term will be devoted to civil eases
Settlement Of most Of the cases dock
eted has dwindled the rather impos-
ing calendar to but to a few eases
and is very likely that the session
will adjourn about the middle Of next
week.