Pages

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Jury Ignores Facts, Finds Lewark and Wicker Innocent of Murder, March 13, 1921

St. Clair Lewark and John Wicker, charged with the murder of Derwood Gallop on the marshes of Pine Island Club on November 25, 1920, were acquitted of the charge by a jury in the Superior Court of Currituck County on Saturday evening, March 13, after a trial of three days.

No matter that Judge Oliver H. Allen told the jury that the case against Lewark was one of the plainest for the state he had ever seen; no matter that no one else has been suspected of the murder of Gallop; no matter that the acquittal of Lewark and Wickers leaves a mystery yet unsolved. The jury brought in a verdict of Not Guilty.

Derwood Gallop on his death bed declared that the man who did the fatal shooting with St. Clare Lewark. James Shannon, a young man who was with Gallop at the time of the shooting says that Lewark fired the shots that killed. But Lewark swore that he didn’t and Dr. J.C. Baum, superintendent of Pine island Club helped to make out an alibi for both Lewark and Wickers.

When the murder was first committed it was felt necessary to bring the accused men to Elizabeth City for safe keeping, so intense was the feeling against them in Currituck. But sentiment re-acted before the trial. Lewark has powerful friends. The club owners too were interested in the case—intensely interested. If the guards of Pine Island Club had been convicted of killing a resident gunner, every Club in Currituck county would have been given a black-eye from which recovery would have been difficult. The acquittal of Leward and Wickers meant much to the club owners. This newspaper will not attempt a rehash of all the evidence in the case, but the testimony of the principal witnesses is here given.

Shannon’s Story

James Shannon, star witness for the state, told his story frankly and with an air of conviction. He is about 31 yeas old and said he had known Gallop since babyhood, having lived near him in Currituck County for about 18 years. The young man had called him Uncle Jim. He had left home at 1 o’clock on the day of the shooting, joined gallop at Betsey’s Creek near Powell’s Point, and set out n a rowboat to hunt geese. Each carried a gun. Shannon had 22 shells and Gallop 11. He said they didn’t fire a shot that day.

The quest for geese led them to Pine Island about five miles away, where the club is located. There they went in an indentation known as Ark Cove, but did not go ashore. Derwood (Gallop) was rowing the boat, while he was keeping a lookout. He said he espied Lewardk and Wicker poling a rowboat around the marsh toward them. He said the sun had just gone down behind the trees to the westward f the sound, but the light was sufficient to recognize Lewark, whom he had known for 10 or 15 years. Lewark was pushing the boat and Wicker was sitting in the bow.

When the other boat had come within 30 or 35 yards of his boat, he said Lewark called to him and Shannon, saying: “You damn s.o.b.’s don’t come ashore.” He said he made no response. Gallop turned the boat to the southward. When they had gotten 100 or 125 yards away from the boat of the guards, he said Lewark called, “Hey,” and immediately opened fire upon them with a high powered rifle. At the first shot Gallop pulled the oars across the boat and slid under the seat. Shannon said Lewark fired five times and the fifth shot plowed thru the port side of the skiff and entered the abdomen of Gallop on the left side, the young man crying out: “Don’t shoot no more Lewark, you have killed one man.”

Shannon said he then screamed ot Lewark, saying: “Don’t shoot no more Lewark, we are going home.” He testified that Lewark fired eight or 10 more shots while he (Shannon) was trying to fix a coat at the bottom of the skiff for Gallop to lay on. That after the last shots were fired, he picked up the oars and rowed three for four miles to Sower’s Camp for help. Finding no one at the camp he took a rug from the premises and wrapped around Derwood, then began rowing home while the young man kept saying he was going to die. Shannon said he told Gallop he was not going to die. He also stated that Gallop said Lewark shot him.

After rowing about three miles back to the creek, he then left the boy in the boat and went to the home of a colored man, Eli Saunders, for help. Then he went after a doctor.

Shannon said he saw Lewark pick up the rifle from the boat, and that Lewark did all the shooting.

Cross examined by Mr. Aydlett, one of the attorneys for the defense, Shannon said he did not remember the exact time they reached the island, but got over there before sundown, their purpose being to shoot geese that night. He said they had stopped at Ark Cove Island, but had not gone ashore as they were waiting for geese. He said he and Gallop were going north when they saw Lewark and Wicker, the former daring them to come ashore. He said they had started back home when Lewark shot. He said he felt the wind of the bullets, one of which hit the right side of the boat at an angle. He had known Lewark for 12 or 14 years he said, and thee was no ill will between them. Their relations were friendly and Lewark had towed him ashore once when he was broken down and at another time had taken him to a store on the Currituck peninsula.

He testified that when he saw Lewark, the sun was behind the woods. He said he had seen no hunters but one that day. This man was tied out goosing and was too far away to be recognized. He had heard no shooting except one gun.

He further testified that he didn’t see Wicker do anything but that Lewark was shoving the boat and picked up the gun and did all the shooting.

At this time there was a consultation among counsel for the defense, who being prompted by Judge Allen, told the witness to stand down. The time was 4:10.

The Father’s Testimony

Peter G. Gallop, the father of the young man took the stand. He said his son was 22 years and eight months old at the time of his death. The boy was not a regular hunter. Peter Gallop said he was building a house not far away and did not see his son leave to go goosing but saw him when he returned, suffering greatly, from one bullet wound in the left side. The young man lived until Saturday morning, dying in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Norfolk, and that while in the hospital his son stated that Lewark did the shooting. (Here the Father burst into tears) and taking his father’s hand told him to feel the wound, saying he was going to die. Gallop said he told his son he was not going to die, and the boy replied, “I can’t live. I am shot too bad.” He said he questioned his son as to the motive of Lewark and boy replied that he didn’t know unless it was because he laughed at Lewark.

Cross examined by Attorney McMullan of the defense, Gallop said his son got home at seven minutes after eight that night, and that Dr. Newbern got there about an hour later. He said the boy was in great pain and wished to be handled carefully and told him that the shooting took place a little after sunset.

His son knew Lewark he said, because he had seen them together at a protracted meeting. He also stated that he questioned his son after the shooting to make sure of their acquaintance and the young man replied that he knew Lewark.

The witness stood down at 4:45 and the state rested. The defense was granted a few minutes consultation before proceeding. Mr. Gallop took the stand again and was questioned about the colored man who carried the boy home from the boat. The witness said Eli Saunders, the colored man, hitched his horse to a cart and took the boy to the house.

Lewark’s Examination

Lewark took the state at 5 o’clock Thursday afternoon. He said he was 44 years old, had lived most of his life in the county, and worked as watchman for the Pine Island Club six months out of the year for a period of six years. Wicker had been with him three years and they lived n a camp on the marsh near the club house, and north of Ark Cove.

He said he had been building some dykes on the morning of Thanksgiving, the day of the shooting, later carrying the barge ashore that he was using, so as to remove an engine and carry it ashore to use for sawing wood. He towed the barge with a big boat he had and then went in the boat to stick a big stake, so that he might tie his boat off shore where the water was deep, afterwards gong back to camp and arriving there about 2:30 p.m. He got his dinner and dropped his boat out over the shoals and at 3:00 o’clock shoved down the shore in a skiff and took up some eel pots, coming back to camp within about an hour of sundown. Seeing some geese in the marsh nearby, he took his shotgun and killed three, and came back to camp, just as the sun was going down.

During the afternoon he was within sight of a blind where a Mr. Ogden and Dr. Julian Baum, club member and superintendent respectively, were waiting for geese. Lewark testified that two men named Aydlett and McHarney were acting as guides for the two hunters. He said when he got back to camp right at sundown, he found Wicker there, standing on a ladder at the end of the camp. He said he climbed on the ladder with Wicker, and with a pair of glasses, saw Dr. Baum and his companions take up the decoys and start for the clubhouse. This was about 25 minutes after sundown.

He said he saw no others during the day except a boat or two at a distance, which apparently contained fishermen. During the day, he was nowhere near Ark Cove, carried no rifle and saw neither Shannon nor Gallop, consequently did not speak to them that day. He said he didn’t know Gallop and had never seen him that he knew of, but was acquainted with Shannon and had towed him in.

Lewark also testified that corn sedge grew in varying heights between the point where he was, and Ark Cove Island. That he could not be seen from Ark Cove Island, but that their was nothing to prevent Dr. Baum from seeing him that afternoon. He said he could not have reached Ark Cove unobserved by Dr. Baum, without rowing around the island, a trip which would ordinarily require about three hours.

The first information that he received of the killing, he said, was at the club house on Friday night when Dr. Baum asked if he had had any trouble the night before and told of the shooting of Gallop and that the guards were accused of the crime. He said he then went back to the camp and told Wicker. The next morning they went fishing and that afternoon were arrested and put under bond for their appearance on the following Saturday. That night they heard Gallop was dead and Sunday night they went to Elizabeth City to see Mr. Aydlett. Dr. Baum and Curtis Baum, a nephew of the doctor, accompanying them. They were arrested n their way out of the office of Mr. Aydlett.

Lewark said it was five miles form Pine Island to Betsey’s Creek and the trip there via Sower’s Camp, with steady rowing, should require as much as one hour to go two miles; after the first hour he intimated that the progress would be slower as the rower would be more fatigued. The trip, he said would take four hours or more.

He said he had not been drinking that day and had not taken a drink since September the first. Lewark’s lawyer concluded his examination at 4:55.

The cross examination for the state was led by Hallet S. Ward. Ward brought out the distinction between marsh guard and watchman. Lewark said they were all the same. In response to the examination he stated that he had three rifles at the camp, one of them being a 44 calibre. He said he carried the rifles for protection against anything that might bother him, as marsh guards assumed a dangerous occupation, due to the ill will between native hunters and the club men. He said he had shot nothing with the rifles except a wild hog some time back, which charged on him. Questioned about being a good shot, he said he ought to have been able to kill the hog as he was only 20 feet away.

He said his camp was about a mile and a half from the club house, that the island was about three miles long and two miles wide.

Corroborating Lewark

Corroborating Lewark’s testimony on direct examination, John D. Wicker, second defendant on trial for the murder of Durwood Gallop, testified that he did not leave camp after half past three o’clock on Thanksgiving afternoon and neither he nor Lewark saw Gallop or Shannon during the day; nor were either one of them at any time during the entire day in sight of the cove where the shooting is alleged to have occurred.

Further corroborating Lewark, Dr. J.C. Baum, superintendent of the Pine Island Club, testified that on Thanksgiving afternoon he was in a blind between the camp of the guards and the alleged scene of the shooting and that the guards were under his observation for practically the entire afternoon and that he did not see them going toward or coming from the place where the shooting is said to have occurred during the entire afternoon and that he did not leave the blind until after sunset.

From The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., Friday, March 18, 1921

No comments:

Post a Comment