The arrest of Policeman Cabaniss of Lattimore, who is charged with having fired a second shot which hit Mrs. I.B. Miller of Caroleen, is about the only new development in the case which has caused much comment in this county and over the entire state. Mrs. Miller was declared to be resting fairly well by authorities at the Rutherford hospital, where she is undergoing treatment. The bullet which penetrated the jaw has been removed but no attempt has as yet been made to search for the other bullet.
Police Cabaniss was Saturday placed under at $500 bond. He is charged with having shot Mrs. Miller in the neck, Mr. Miller declaring that the shot fired at Lattimore struck his wife in the back of the neck.
At the preliminary hearing Cabaniss admitted having shot one time but he declares that he was shooting in the ground. Other men who were in the car with him also stated that he fired but they were unable to say in what direction the gun was pointed. The whole trial was a John Doe investigation to find out who it was that fired the shot at Lattimore.
The defense of Mr. Cabaniss, it is understood, will be based on the claim that he had been informed by the officers at Casar that a man had been killed when run over by the car and that he was naturally led to believe the car contained desperate people. It will also be his contention that Mrs. Miller was shot both times at Casar; that the bullet he fired went into the ground.
This last contention, however, seems to be refuted by Mr. Miller’s statement and by that of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, who state that Mrs. Miller was shot in the back at Casar and that the bullet which entered the back of her neck, circling around her head and breaking the jaw bone, was fired at Lattimore.
A report reaching The Star as to the occurrence at Cesar while unverified is given as it was received. It is claimed that there were two cars proceeding along the road. The car in which the Caroleen party was riding was behind the other machine. Both machines were stopped. Houser searched the machine which was in front. Wesson searched the car in which Mr. and Mrs. Miller were riding and, finding no whiskey, told them to drive on. As the car passed the one which Houser had stopped, Houser made a jump for the running board, missed his step and fell to the ground. Then the shooting started.
This report, of course, is unverified. With the exception of statements made by Prohibition Enforcement Officer Houser Thursday morning nothing has been heard of the officers’ story. It is now declared that the affair took place earlier in the night than was first reported, or about 9:30 o’clock.
The shooting has been almost the sole topic of conversation in the county since its occurrence. Sentiment seems absolutely against the officers, especially those who started the shooting at Cesar. It is understood that sentiment in No. 11 township where the car was stopped, is so intense that Hoyle and Wesson have been threatened by a number of people.
The opinion of the attorneys seems to be that Houser, Hoyle and Wesson will likely be tried in Federal court, inasmuch as the party was in charge of Houser, who is a Federal officer. However, Cabaniss will probably be tried in Superior court in this county as he was not acting in conjunction with a Federal officer. Hoyle and Wesson are county officers but the fact that they were under direction of a Federal officer places them, it is believed, under the jurisdiction of Federal court.
Clyde R. Hoey has been retained to prosecute the officers, O. Max Gardner represents Policeman Cabaniss, and O.M. Mull will appear for Wesson, Houser and Hoyle.
From the front page of The Cleveland Star, Shelby, N.C., Sept. 12, 1922
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