Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1952-03-05

CnG same Case WcIc I1cilIy
Otto Edwards, 50, Whiteville
garage operator; John Honey.
cult, Jr., 26, a Chadbourn pro-
duce dealer; and Ray Kelly, 43,
and garage operator.
At least one other arrest in this
case was a definite possibility
and would have been made Tues.
day except for the sickness of the
individual involved. His arrest
is expected to be made today or
tomorrow.
The arrest of Lewis today
brought the total number of per.
sons now charged with Khan
floggings in this county to an
even 20 and five flogging cases
now have definite suspects under
arrest.
SBI Agent James F. Bradshaw
identified Kelly as the man who
answered the door when advance
agents of the mob called at the
Johnson home on the night of
December 8, 1851. Kelly, a neigh.
Dor of the Johnson family, was
reported to have summoned
Johnson from a cot where he was
asleep and told him some men
wanted fo see him
Admission Made
Bradshaw said Edwards, a
father-in-law of the victim by
marriage, admitted he was
Klan member in 1851 but had
torn up his card and burned his
robe.
Honeycutt was quoted as say.
ing he had sent a Khan member.
ship application to Grand Dragon
Thomas L. Hamilton of Leesville,
S. c., but claimed he had received
no reply. He commended he had
sent no money with the applica-
ton, the SBI agent said.
The FBI breakdown on Febru.
airy 16 against 10 Fair Bluff area
men in the Dorothy billiard Mar.
tin and Ben Granger kidnap.
ping was followed last Wednes.
day by the arrest of IL men by
SBI agents and county officers
in the kidnapping of Esther Lee
Floyd, a Chadbourn Negro. Since
six of the men arrested in the
Floyd case had previously been
charged in the FBI case the total
of men accused in the
two cases went to 16.
SBI Agent Bradshaw revealed
TODAY that the same IL arrested
last Wednesday would also be
charged with the flogging of
Dorsey Robinson, another Chad
bourn Negro on the same night
Esther Lee Floyd was kidnapped.
He did not indicate that they
would be reaTested Immediately
Arrests are yet to be made in
the floggings of eight other vic
tins. Seven of these have been
identified as Lee Tyson, Greet
Pinkney, Wright Lawyer Jerni.
gan, Robert Lee Gore, Clayton
Sellers. H. D. Best and Ever
green Flowers.
Bonds for the three men arrest.
ed in the Johnson case were set
at $4,000 for Honeycutt and Ed
wards and $4,000 for Kelly. All
made bail and were released.
Edwards is charged with aid
ing and abetting in the kidnap.
ping of his son-in.law while Kelly,
the victims neighbor at the time
is charged with conspiracy. Hon.
eycutt is alleged to have been
of the mob.
FLOGGING DETAILS
Johnson was beaten on a Sat.
urday night after he had return.
ed home from Florence. S. c.,
where he had been working as a
in garage. Some men
called to see him for a minute.
Supposing they were people who
wanted to talk to him about au.
tomobile repair work, as was Oft
en- the case when he was home for
weekends, he walked up to a car
where he was seized, blindfolded.
and carried away to be flogged.
The mechanic was beaten sew.
erely and released by the mob
which warned him not to look
back. He was one of the two
victims who disregarded warn
ings about talking to the law
and reported the incident to of.
ficers immediately.