Evening star., 1936-12-09
PERJURY CHARGES
VOTED FOR THREE
SILENT WITNESSES
Grand Jury Takes Speedy
Action in 0'Brien Shoot.
ing Case.
PLEADING NOT GUILTY,
ALL ARE PUT IN JAIL
Six Other Defendants Are Found
Guilty on Assault In.
dictments.


failed them in the trial of six al
legged members of the warning mob"
on shooting charges.
The witnesses were arraigned i'm
. mediately and committed to Jail after
pleading not guilty.
They are Joseph Edward O'Brien,
the man who was shot by the gum
man; William R. Country Car
penter, and Harry Spike Behrle,
supposed eye witnesses to the shoot
ing.
Bond tor O'Brien was set at $4,000,
while Justice Peyton Gordon required
the others to post $500 before they
can be released
Indictments to BE Attached.
United States Attorney Leslie c.
Garnett had planned to ask that the
three men be brought to trial tomor-
row, but this became impossible when
Defense Attorney F. Joseph Donohue
asked for five days in which to file
pleadings attacking the indictments.
The three defendants in the perjury
case had been called to testify for the
and five of his associates, which was
concluded yesterday when the jury
found all of them guilty
O'Brien, Carpenter and Behrle,
when called to the witness stand in
the shooting case. said they could
not remember anything about the
shooting and added they could not
Nf bn Iofa
Carpenter and Behrle also pro-
fessed to have no recollection concern
ing signed statements they allegedly
had given police.
Those convicted last night are Jo-
seph S. Bond, George (Teddy) Tear,
Samuel S. tMonte) Montgomery,
Charles r. (Rags) Warning, Clarence
(Cocky) Ware and John Sweeney.
They were found guilty of assault with
q dangerous weapon and assault with
intent to kill for shooting OBrien
in front of a restaurant at 212 Sec
ond street southeast last July. Each
faces maximum Jail sentence Of as
years.
The guilty verdict was announced
understanding in which the defend
ants thought they had been acquitted
Broad smiles crossed their faces as
the jury foreman. in response to a
question by the clerk as to whether
they had found the defendants guilty
or not guilty, answered mot guilty.
in the case of each man.
The court had started to record the
not guilty verdict when one of the
Jurors exclaimed: "But there is some
mistake. That is not our verdict in
full"
Questioning by Judge Gordon then
brought out that the jury foreman
thought he was announcing the verdict
only on the first count of the eight
count Indictment The foreman ex-
planned they had voted not guilty on
the first six counts, which charged
each of the defendants individually
with firing the shots. and guilty on the
seventh and eighth counts, which
charged them collectively with assault
with a dangerous weapon and assault
with intent to kill
After the verdict was in, Judge
Gordon committed the defendants to
Jail to await sentence, which will be
imposed later
Carpenter and Behrle, both sup
posedly eyewitnesses to the assault.
found themselves unable to remember
any details of the shooting when called |
to the witness stand. They also were |
hIo - af t1o
ants as having been at the scene, and |
said they couldn't remember giving |
statements to the police although they |
admitted they had signed the state |
ments.
O'Brien, still using crutches as
result Of bullet wounds in his leg, took
the witness stand Monday and tried
to avoid answering questions on the
ground he might incriminate him.
self Assured this was not the case, he
then denied having told Police Lieut..
Clement Cox that three of the de-
tendants-Bond, Tear and Montgomery
participated in the assault, and that
Warning, Sweeney and Ware were at
the scene.
His story was that some cars drove
up, some fellows got out and there was
some shooting" He refused to be more
explicit. despite insistent questioning.
Ralph May, Navy Yard employe,
testified that he obtained the license
number of one of the two automobiles
in which the gunner drove to the
scene of the shooting and turned 1t
over to policeman. Harry l.. Robert
son, Virginia State policeman, took the
stand next and said he arrested Tear
and Bond about two hours after the
shooting in car bearing the same
license number at Falmouth, Va.
Strong Appeal Closes Case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant
United States Attorney Irving Gold
stein. Forced to impeach his principal
witnesses and with little other tangible
evidence to rely on, he closed his case
with a strong appeal to the jury for
conviction of all six men.
You saw what happened here" he
told the jurors. "Are we to have the
wheels of justice impeded in this coun-
try because some people have ideas Of
settling their affairs in their own way?
I would say frankly that when these
men shot O'Brien they did little dam
age, but you must remember that the
shooting occurred on a public street
where any innocent person might have
been struck by the bullets. 1t is in the
interest of justice that these men be
found clli1tv"