Evening star., 1949-01-05

Defendant Nav
Testify Today
Witnesses Describe
Wild Fight FotoI
To Pvt. Caldwell

~ VI. SOI0WSla
Thomas Hall, Sc, giant illiterate
stone worker, accused of numbering
Prince Georges County Policeman
Charles F. Caldwell, 36, last June
may take the witness stand today
during his trial in Prince Georges
County Circuit Court at Uppe,
Marlboro, Md.
When Court recessed late yester.
DAY. Defense Attorney j. Frank Lii.
lard, jr. told the panel of three
judges trying the murder case he
would place Hall on the stand, II
the court admitted into evidence q
police statement on which his client
had placed his mark.
States Attorney A. Gwynn Bowie
precipitated a heated legal battle
when he sought to introduce the
tour-page penciled statement
which 1t. Charles N. Thomson saio
he jotted down as Hall, who is col
ored, gave his version of the fatal
shooting following his arrest.
Statement Denied Guilt.
Presiding Judge Charles c. Mar
bury and his associates, Judge John
B. Gray and Chief Judge William
M. Loker, said the statement
could not be introduced if it were
a confession, but Mr.. Bowie de-
clared:
1T is not a confession. 1t is a
denial by the defendant OF his
guilt
The State called IA witnesses yes
terday to relate the tragic sequence
of events that unfolded in the $500
block of Maple road, Deanwood
Park, Md, on June IL, eliminating
in the death of Pvt. Caldwell.
Hall was relaxing on his Saturday
afternoon of in his basement quar-
tiers in crowded three-story house
on a hill in Deanwood Park when
his daughter. jamie Leeta Hall, 20
became involved in a quarrel with
a neighbor youth.
"She knocked off my glasses ano
I hit her" the neighbor, Willie
Preston Digges. colored, %, testified
She went home and came back
with a butcher knife and cut me.
Digges was sent to the hospital
and police were called. Hall, his
wife and jamie were waiting in tht
front yard Of their home when Pvts
Caldwell and Wallace L. Baker
raped at their back door.
"Tom Hall was cussing and shout.
ing" Pvt. Baker testified. jamie
admitted she had cut the boy, anc
Off1cer Caldwell told her she was
under arrest. I told Tom he was
under arrest. too.
In Single File.
1--WE started back to the scout car
parked about block away. We hac
to go down a steep hill and cross
little brook and we were in single
flle. jamie leading, then Caldwell
Tom Hall and me.
"As we went up the far bank OF
the brook jamie jumped on Cald.
well and began fighting. 1 pulled
her of and Caldwell stumbled ano
fell. I pulled my gun and ordered
every one to stand back until he
got up. I started to put handouts
on Tom Hall, but Caldwell saio
leave them off. Then jamie jumped
on me.
While I was fighting jamie, ]
heard Caldwell holler, Watch your
gun, Baker," I turned and saw
Hall had Caldwell on the ground
Then jamie struck me on the back
OF the head, and I became dazed
I heard three shots and saw Hall
standing over Caldwell, who was
lying on the ground.
Hall came towards me. had
my gun in my hand, but I can't re-
member taking it out of the holster
I remember firing three times at
Hall as he was firing at me, and
I could feel his bullets hitting me
Then was on the ground. The
next thing I knew I was standing
over Caldwell and he said, Get
help
Gun Against Head.
Il reached into the scout car for
the radio transmitter, but 1t was
gone-some one had torn it out. Hall
came over and put a gun against my
head and clicked the trigger -four
or five times, but 1t was empty. He
threw the gun away and started
checking me.
Il picked up nightstick and be.
gan beating him on the head and
at the same time kicking him of
me. I got up and slugged him sew
eral more times with the nightstick
as hard as I could hit him.
The next thing I knew was or
the ground in back ofsthe car, and
he was squeezing my throat with his
left hand and hitting me with his
right. jamie and some other woman
were beating me on the head with a
nightstick." Other police officers
finally came and took the Halls
away.
While the melee was going en- at
the bottom of the hill another
bloody fracas was in progress in the
Hall nome in which Mrs. Hall was
fatally injured with baseball bat.
Police released A. c. Bradley, COL
ored, after questioning him in con-
nection with Mrs. Halls death, re-
porting he had struck in self-de-
fense. The case later went to the
grand jury, but no action was taken
Viroiniu Group Named