Evening star., 1937-07-15
BR|bE TESTIMONY
IS DUE IN TRIAL Of
BOND RACKET CASE
Bowie May Call Braxton,'
Held for Action of D. c.
Grand Jury.
$35 OFFER TO WITNESS
NOT TO APPEAR CHARGED
Motorist on Stand Tells How He
Paid $155 to Have Serious
Charges Dropped.
8, Stan Correspondent of The Star.

B' Stan Correspondent OF The Star.
UPPER MARLBORO, Nd, July Is.
Testimony regarding an alleged at
tempt to bribe a witness was ex-
pected today at the trial here Of
seven former Prince Georges County
policemen, former magistrate and
bondsman on charges of conspiracy
to obstruct justice in connection with
bonding racket for fleeing Wash.
lnston motorists
States Attorney Alan Bowie. who is
prosecuting the case. probably will
call Harry McH Braxton. who is be-
ing held for action of the District Of
Columbia grand jury on an attempted
bribery charge.
Braxton is accused of having Of.
fered Charles Hamilton, 80, colored,
a witness at the grand jury probe of
the bonding racket, s35 not to appear
at the trial. Braxtap was arrested
in Hamilton's room by officers planted
there to listen to his conversation.
Tells OF Arrest.
How he was arrested by Policemen
Claude A. Reese and Warren Peake
last August in Hyattsville and paid
S155 to have charges of driving while
drunk and reckless driving disposed Of
was related to the jury today by WAL
ter H. Matthews, colored, helper on
District refuse truck.
The colored laborer said he was
driving about 20 miles an hour and
had drunk only two bottles of beer"
several hours previously when Reese
and Peake arrested him. The witness
said he was told to get in touch with
Elmer Pumphrey to make bond.
Matthews told the jury that after
his release he borrowed 500 from a
loan company and that he and his
wife drove to Bondsman Humphreys
home at Suitland, Md, where hs
gave Humphrey the $50.
According to the motorist, PUN.
phrey said he would scratch his name
on the book and substitute another
name following the payment of s65.
Matthews testified that on the fol-
lowing pay day he gave s65 to a
fellow worker with the understands
ing it was to be delivered to PUN.
phrey.
Heard No More of Charges.
DO you know whether that money
was ever given to Mr.. Pumphrey?"
the witness was asked by defense
counsel
mo, but I do know I never heard
any more from the charges" declared
Matthews.
William c. Fraser. Baltimore audi
tor, then took the stand and declared
there was no record of a case against
Matthews on the police blotter, or in
a jacket, or on Police Court dockets.
He said, however, that Matthews was
booked in the docket kept by Justice
OF the Peace Herbert j. Moffat as hav-
ing been charged with driving while
drunk and reckless driving.
Defense Counsel Lansdale G..
Sasscer, president Of the MARYLAND
State Senate, told the court that
Pumphrey had never received any
money from Matthews.
Tell of Large Bonds.
Motorlst after motorist took the
stand yesterday to tell how they paid
ices for large bonds after arrests on
serious traffic charges Fraser followed
each motorist to the stand to testify
tn cN1lrf ~
latlons. In virtually all the cases
light fines were shown to have been
paid by the motorists in question for
lesser offenses than those originally
charged
Those on trial are Moffat. Pun.
phrey and former County Policemen
Albert Anderson. Howard Slater, Ar.
thur Brown. Maurice Hampton, Peake,
Reese and Frank Bell, a former desk
clerk at the Hyattsville police station.
Bowie took the stand for the prose-
cution Yesterday to relate how
missing jacket containing Police Court
papers on traffic case was turned
over to him last January by Anderson,
one OF the defendants, about month
after the racket indictments had been
returned.
Another witness was Northern Irby,
colored, a Treasury Department mes
senger, who declared he was arrested
in May Of 1896 by Anderson and
charged with speeding at more than
so miles, reckless driving and crossins
q white line.
Irby said he was taken before Mof-
fat, who set a high bond. Irby told
the jury he was taken to Jail and re-
leased on the following afternoon after
he agreed to pay Humphrey $lOl70
for his bond.
Irby said he paid in installments,
and meanwhile his trial in HyattsvilH
Police Court was put off several times.
The witness told the court the last
payment was made after he met
Pumphrey at Police Court. Irby said
Humphrey told me to put the money
in my hand. walk outside of the court
house and when We got outside slip
it to him." The witness demonstrated
by gestures how he paid the money ii
q furtive manner.