Negro Acquitted of
Murder Charge
Rocky Mount, May 2—The jury in the case of Daniel Elkinson,
the negro charged with the murder of Charles J. Devine, required about 10
minutes to reach a verdict of not guilty yesterday afternoon.
Judge Bond began
his charge at 2 p.m., and talked to the jury until 3 o’clock. The 12 men then
retired and before 3:15 they returned and announced they had found Elkinson not
guilty of the crime.
The trial of the Elkinson case began Teusday morning and
continued for two days. Messrs. T.T. Thorne and R.G. Allsbrook handled the case
for the State and Messrs. John W. Hester of Oxford and Fincy and Vaughan of
Nashville were attorneys for the negro.
The defense built up a strong alibi which seems to have
proven a success with the jury. A number of witnesses were put on the stand,
who testified Elkinson was home on the night of the shooting, and also he was
at home on the Sunday night following.
The chief strength of the State’s case was the testimony of
Officer C.S. Henry, who was shot by the negro who killed young Devine who
positively identified Elkinson as the negro who did the shooting. The tragedy
occurred when Officer Henry was attempting to arrest a colored man for carrying
a concealed weapon, and young Devine came to his death when he attempted to
answer Officer Henry’s appeal to help in effecting the negro’s arrest.
The local department is at a loss to know what procedure to
take. Unless by some chance the guilty party comes forward or is discovered,
administering justice to the man who killed the young man and shot the officer
will seem remote.
Elkinson was arrested by Officer J.O. Dudley after a clever
piece of detective work. Officer Dudley’s story was also a strong point in the
State’s case. The defense’s alibi was overwhelming, however. The testimony presented
by the defense was similar to that heard in the preliminary hearing held here
several weeks ago, when probable cause for guilt was found, and the negro was
bound over to Nash Superior court.
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