|A JURY FINDS
I ROBERTS GUILTY.
I Fixes Penalty at Six Months in Jail
I and Imposes $1,000 Fine.
I JURY OUT FIVE HOURS
, r x
/
Return to Court at Eleven
O’clock That Night and
Are Discharged.
DEFENDANT THANKS THE COURT.
Notice of Appeal Served by John V.
Roberts’ Counsel Immediately
Following the Reading of
the Jury's Verdict.
At 11 o’clock Wednesday night,
after being out five hours, the
jury in the case of John V. Rob
0 erts, charged with grave robbery,
/ returned a verdict of guilty, sen
( tencing the defendant to six
/ months’ imprisonment in jail and
I imposing a fine of $1,000.
The case went to the jury at
six o’clock, and a report soon
leaked out that the body of ten
members, two having been ex
i cused during the trial, stood 8 to
2 fog, conviction. Another r#
pWiSy^eiWthe whole time
I was occupied’^fixing the amount
■ of fine and jail sentence. Rob
fg erts’ jail sentence is the same
■ as that of Lightle, though his
I fine is only half the latter’s.
When the verdict was an
nounced, Judge Stuckey, for the
defense, filed notice of appeal,
and the defendant thanked the
court for his fair and impartial
rulings in the conduct of the
Dr. and Mrs. Lightle, John V.
Roberts and sisters drove home
to Searcy Thursday morning, and
the attorneys in the case left
that night and next morning for
their homes.
The cases of Lightle and Rob
erts have both been appealed to
the circuit court. There a change
. of venue will doubtless be sought
and if they ever come to trial
again it will probably be in an
other county. As both defend
ants have been strong adherents
| of Governor Davis, their pardon,
[ after the public feeling aroused
I has subsided, will occasion no
[marked surprise.
| RESUME OF THE ARGUMENT.
I Judsonia, Sept. 28.—Judge
Smith’s court reconvened at
9:20 this morning and final argu
ment in the trial of John V.
Roberts was resumed by Gustave
Jones, who failed to finish his
speech yesterday evening.
Mr. Jones began this morning
by apologizing to the court and
jury for the personalities en
gaged in last night during his
speech. He referred to the tes
timony of Deputy Sheriff Waters
and J. J. Baugh and the personal
interest they had manifested
against the defendant. He
touched on how the state had
acted toward witness Bradley
when on the stand in asking him
if there was not a warrant out
for his arrest.
“Upon what ground could you
accept all the testimony of Wal
ter Gregory and not that of Dr.
Lightle?” he asked. The theo
ry detailed by Dr. Lightle was
not improbable in the least, and
it would only have been natural
for him to run off after the body
was burned.
“Not a single witness had
aught to say against Dr. Ligh
tle’s character previous to this
charge, and now he stands be
fore you as an unimpeachable
witness, and Gregory stands be
fore you as a perjured villian and
confessed bribe-taker, according
to his own testimony, ” said thei
speaker.
Mr. Jones thanked the court I
for his impartial rulings, and
grew quite eloquent in his clos
ing remarks.
PACE CLOSES FOR DEFENSE.
Hon. Frank Pace of Harrison,
a warm personal friend of the
defendant, made the last plea
for acquittal. The speaker was
quite eloquent from the start
and made one of the strongest
speeches ever heard in Judsonia.
He pictured to the jury in
strong terms the importance of
their verdict, which he hoped
would be of acquittal, as it
meant everything to the defend
“If he knew nothing of the
grave robbery and took part
afterward as an attorney or in
defrauding the insurance compa
nies you could not convict him of
grave robbery.
Every inch of the testimony
was touched upon by the speaker,
who appealed to the jury to go
with him back to the time they
took the oath, six days ago, when
they said they would return a
verdict according to the law and
the testimony. “I want you to
be just as strong as the law will
make you strong, and I want you
to be just as weak as the law will
make you weak, and I want you
to thfen apply the law and the
testimony and from this render
your verdict accordingly,” he
said.
The speaker said four insur
ance companies with a capital of
eight million dollars had secret
detectives and a horde of men
preparing for the prosecution,
and had employed one of the
most talented attorneys who ever
entered the halls of congress.
The state’s attorney, on the
start, had said they would prove
that the defendant in this case
tried to get a “stiff” from 01
Kirkland in his place of business
in Little Rock, but did they do
it? “Did Kirkland testify to
any such a thing?” asked the
speaker.
Mr. Pace was not well and had
to speak slowly, as he could see
he was failing in strength and
would not be able to present the
argument in the manner he wish
ed to. He stated that he got out
of bed to assist in the defense of
a friend whom he thought not
guilty.
DISCUSSED GREGORY’S TESTI
MONY.
Walter Gregory’s testimony
was next discussed by the speak
er, who eulogized his aged fa
ther and mother, who had tried
to teach their son the way of
right but, according to his aunt’s
testimony, he is a “perjured vil
lian,” who took under considers
tion the crime of “digging u
the dead and robbing the liv
mg.”
“Now, for the sake of argu
ment,” said Mr. P ice, “let’s sup
pose that Lightle and the defend
ant did enter into a conspiracy to
rob the insurance people, why
did they want or why did they
need Gregory in the scheme?
According to his own testimony,
they didn’t need him and yet he
was to get $7,000 for doing noth
ing. He admits that he got
money for watching one of the
attorneys for the prosecution to
see if he rode on a pass, in order
to injure a friend of his and a
life-long friend to the family. He
will do anything for money.”
A ten minute’s recess was had
during Mr. Pace’s remarks and
a photograph of the audience was
taken.
Resuming, Mr. Pace continued
to discuss Gregory’s evidence
about the body being taken from
the grave on the night of April
26. He said the two Misses
Roberts, J. B. and Jack Li
gon, Mrs. Scanl an, Dr. j
Faust and Conductor Dickey all
testified that Roberts was at
Armstrong Springs the night
that Gregory said they robbed
the grave of Ed Pitts. Gregory’s
confession threw him safely in
the arms of the detectives and
insurance companies and he had
been stopping at $3-per-day ho
tels. They also, Mr. Pace de
clared, took Gregory to Hot
Springs to boil the meanness out
Df him, but found that it would
take a year to do that.
“Gregory "*TV°^5P‘
from Mrs. Lightle, ’ ’ he
•'and got it, Keely got money
from Mrs. Lightle, and Deener
was offered $500 and wanted
$1,000. According to Deener’s
testimony, he was the first one
to tell John Roberts about Ligh
tle being dead. Gregory had to
get drunk before he could make
a confession and he was with
whom? Deener.
“Gregory, Deener and Neely
had formed a conspiracy to ex
tort money from Mrs. Lightle
and according to the letter he
wrote to Mrs. Lightle he was
going to leave soon and would be
down ‘to get our little business
fixed up. ’ ‘One of the fellows I
told you about has left here, ’
wrote Gregory to Mrs. Lightle.
Who is one of the fellows?” he
asked. “It was either Deener
or Neely.
When Gregory confessed, he
said, he was not in the hands of
an evangelist, but in the hands
of detectives and the insurance
companies, and John Roberts
was in St. Louis attending the
fair.
“This testimony comes from
Deener, gentlemen of the jury,”
he said, ‘ ‘and not from one of
the defendant’s witnesses.”
After two hours and fifteen
minutes’ plea for acquittal, the
speaker thanked the jury and
the court and at 12:15 court ad
journed until 1:30.
Mr. Pace closed the argument
for the defense at 2:20 by saying
the state had nailed down the
defendant “with a turn-down
collar,” but they had failed to
get any witnesses, with the ex
ception of Gregory, Deener and
Neely, to swear that Roberts
was in Searcy the night of April
26, and asked why the state did
not bring up reputable citizens
(Continued on Pat?e 2.)
f*FRESH OYSTERS S
- AT - j
\ RILEY MAYHAN’S. \
J
,KERS'
IEW y°RK
Correct Clothesfor Men
_■
Specialists
in Men’s and Boys’
j Apparel*
Along the Pike ,
At the Fair you’ll see thou
sands of well-dressed men.
Many of them wear clothes
bearing this famous label:
j^IJrSd genjamin © g
MAKERS--i:-flEWy°RK |
1 i I
The new Fall togs are j
on display at our shop. Cus
tom-made Suits, White and
Fancy Waistcoats, Top
Coats and Raincoats, ready
to wear.
I 'v-; /
;._y~ ' 1lBmr
©RriRrKCtLETT,
7A« Oanoer, Sorafula and
Vanaraal Exmart.
"We make a cure of above without the knife or
or pain. We challenge the world for the radicar
cure of cancer. It matters not the size of your
cancer or the length of time you have been labor
ing under it. We will cure same in from eight to
twelve days. We must in all cases make a person
al diagnosis at our office in Newport, or, at your
suggestion, we cure by a special written guaran
tee on our part. Please drop us a card or call at
our office.
We make a specialty of female diseases.
Yours, very truly,
A. KELLETT, M.D., C. S.
Newport, Ark.
COACH EXCURSIONS TO ST.
LOUIS, MO., VIA THE IRON
i mountain route.
[ • --
Coach Excursion tickets will be
on sale daily, except on Friday
and Saturday—September 14th to
I September 30th inclusive. Rate
i $5.60 round trip; childen under
12 and over 5 years of age $4.00,
return limit on these tickets
seven davs from date of sale.
Thos. H. Reamey, Agent.
SCHOOL NOTICE.
People whet have children to
i be entered in our first year work
must have them enter this week
or they will be barred until De
i cember 12, at which time an
other chart class will be opened.
Respectfully,
Geo. R. Hopkins.
New Hazel dray to all parts of
city. Telephone your orders to
the Hazel. 22d4w
I
”—set: i n/\ 1 dwuiv.
It has stood between many a
man and disaster. Put your
money in a
Good, Reliable Bank,
And it will be there when you
want it. If you entrust your
money to us you may be sure of
every courtesy and that your
business will be handled by mod- Jji'
ern business-like methods.
Arkansas Bank and Trust Com
Capital $100,000.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
J. W. Grubbs, President. Nathan Graham, V.-Pres.
Chas. G. Henry, Cashier.
B. B. Bond, M. D. Campbell, S. D. Campbell,
G. D. Clements, R. F. Drummond, W. D. McLain,
F. D. Fulkerson, C. J. Saenger, Abe Heilegers,
0. D. Watson, L. Minor. L. E. Willis,
J. S. Wilmans.
THE BANK OF NEWPORT
Solicits the acccounts of depositors who. desire
the accommodations of a first-class, well
equipped and reliable banking house.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
Geo. W. Decker, President. R. M. Johnson, Cashier.
A. D. Bailey, Vice Pres’t. T. D. Kinman, Ass’t Cashier.
Thos. J. Graham. Ed. P. Shoffner. J. T. Henderson.
Jos. M. Stayton. Dr. J. M. Jones. T. S. Stephens.
j
Jack Herron
For Granitoid and Stone Walks,
Curbing, all kinds of Brick Work.
Don’t fail to get my figures
before contracting.
My Work Talks For Itself
Parties wanting crushed Lime
I Stone Walks apply to me.
/
Henry Owen,
s
Physician, Surgeon
and Oculist.
Office - - Sells’ Drug Stare.
/