The Washington times., 1935-06-15
VALLEYS LIKELY.
To Be TRIED
BYSTATE
U. S. Attorney at Tacoma
Studies Evidence; Decision
! ToB Made Soon

~
V1.N.SO Back at his desk here
for the first time since the Weyer'
haeuser kidnapping, j. CHI ar1e S
Dennis, U. S. attorney for west
ern washington, today began q
study of the evidence gathered
by Omen against the WaleyS-
Harmon and Marga re-both
jailed at Olympia. Wash, and
William Mahan. the fugitive.
Dennis arrived from San Fran
cisco, where he had appeared be.
fore the U. s. Circuit Court OF
Appeals, and conferred with P,
Hughes, assistant U. S. attorney
at Tacoma, who prepared the
complaints against the three Sus'
poets in the sensational 5000, 900
abduction case. He said:
II want to study all the data
handed to my office by the
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
before making q definite an
nOuncement Of procedure.
! STATE MAY TRY CASE
7 at still is possible the Gov
eminent will hand the case over
to the State Of Washington for
prosecution"
Department Of Justice officials,
It was learned, are anxious to
have the Valleys, and Mahan
when he is captured, suffer the
severest penalty possible. Wash
ington's own antikidnaping law
provides the death penalty, but
the Federal law carries only q
maximum sentence of life impris'
onment in the Weyerhaeuser case
because little George was un'
harmed by his captors.
Dennis said he probably would
discuss the case all day with
Hughes and Harold Nathan, as
sistant director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, and E. J..
Connolly, Oman in charge OF the
case, before making a decision.
Should Dennis decide to handle
the case in the U. S. District
Court here, he will call the Fed
eral grand jury into session next
week, possibly Thursday, to indict
the three suspects.
Johnston Waiting
Harry H. Johnston, prosecuting
attorney of Pierce county, said
he would be glad" to press the
case in the State courts if the
Government turned it over to
him. So far Johnston has played
a waiting game"-waiting for
the Government to decide in
which court the case shall be
tried.
The Valleys 24-year-old hus-
band who twice has been a con-
vict and twice paroled; a pretty
19-year-old bride who still loves
her husband despite his introduc-
ton of her into a life Of crime
remained under close guard at
the Thurston county Jail at Olym-
pia, 80 miles southwest of here.
It was reliably reported young
George Weyerhaeuser positively
identified the young couple as
members of the "Egoist" snatch
mob.
May Plead Guilty
The Valleys, who are said to
have confessed completely in the
NorthWeSt'S greatest crime, when
arrested at Salt Lake City week
ago today with approximately
half of the "hot" ransom money,
pleaded not guilty when ar
raigned before the United States
commissioner here.
That plea may be changed to a
plea of guilty when they are
taken before United States Dis
trict Judge E. E. Cushman fol.
lowing the expected grand jury
indictments, it was reported.
A double plea of guilty in Fed
eral court would be made, it is
said, in hope Mrs. Valley, who has
no prior criminal record, will win
leniency or promise of an early
parole. Omen in charge Of the
case refused to comment on this
possibility, intimating Uncle
Sam doesn't bargain with crimi-
mails, doesn't make deals or
promises
The wide manhunt for Mahan,
purported master mind of the
Weyerhaeuser snatch, continued
in Montana and surrounding ter
ritory of the Rocky Mountain
area,