David Bryant and Eugene Robbins were found not guilty Friday in Recorder W.B. Ivey’s court on charges of disorderly conduct, and upon recommendation of Solicitor F. Ertel Carlyle, Walter Cox Johnson was also found not guilty of being a nuisance.
The case grew out of the alleged misconduct on the part of the young men on the night of August 20th, when a woman giving her name as Mrs. Thompson of Bladenboro asked Mr. Hardee, clerk at the Lorraine hotel, to assist her in getting relief from a mob of boys who were frightening her and following her. It was in evidence that Johnson spoke to the woman while she was in the hotel, and Robbins and Bryant, in company with James Rosser and Worth McGill, pursued her in a car after she had left the hotel with Jess Whittington, a jitney driver, for her home. The evidence tended to show that there was a large crowd of boys in front of the Olympia café on the night in question, and were making inquisitive looks at Mrs. Thompson while she was in the café. After she left the café, and went to the hotel, the crowd went to the hotel. There was no direct evidence that either of the defendants was doing anything disorderly. There was identification testimony offered that Bryant and Robbins were in the crowd, but no convicting evidence could be produced. Johnson was not identified as being in the crowd, but it was shown that he was in the hotel at the time the woman was, and that he spoke to her. He denied that he spoke to her first, paying no attention to her until after she had called to him, and asked him a question.
Johnson did not realize the seriousness of his case until after he was found guilty by Recorder Ivey the following morning. He contended that he was innocent of any wrongdoing, and, acting upon the advice of friends, consulted Mr. W.S. Britt, attorney, for advice. He told Mr. Britt his side of the affair, after which Mr. Britt went before the recorder and won his motion to have the case re-opened.
When court opened Friday morning there was a large crowd of young men and boys present. It was the purpose of the recorder to try the three cases jointly, but it was fond that Mr. L.J. Britt represented Bryant, Mr. W.S. Britt represented Johnson, Robbins was gong to plead his won case, and Mr. E.M. Johnson was assisting Mr. Carlyle in the prosecution, so upon motion of Messrs. Britt and Britt, the case against Bryant was called first. The state produced the evidence mentioned above, and Bryant’s attorney made a motion for dismissal, which was refused. The defendant put on several witnesses who fared hard at the hands of the prosecution. It was the consensus of opinion that the defendant had a better chance of winning had his attorney rested his case at the close of the state’s evidence.
Recorder Ivey did not pass judgment following the speeches by the attorneys, but waited until Robbins had been heard. His case was called after the noon adjournment. Robbins had studied the manner in which the lawyers had handled the case, and took his potion at the defense table, and conducted his ow defense. Before rendering judgment Recorder Ivey made a short talk on the undesirable conduct of the mob of boys, and stated that he had allowed the state to go further in the matter than was his custom in order that the true facts might be brought out. He found Bryant and Robbins not guilty, after which Solicitor Carlyle moved that his honor also find Johnson not guilty without further hearing. This was agreed upon, after Mr. W.S. Britt explained that Johnson had told him his story, and that he felt so sure that the boy was not guilty, and could be declared so with counsel that he took his case without fee. This was prompted, he explained on account of the character of the boy, his fine parentage and his desire to go to college this fall.
Another case before Recorder Ivey which attracted equally as much attention was the one Thursday against Brooks Miller and Mrs. Frank Walters, charged with fornication and adultery.
It was in evidence that Miller, a married man, had been making frequent trips to Mrs. Walters’ home, one witness swearing that he had seen Miller there at 4 o’clock in the morning. Other witnesses testified to seeing them there together at different times. There was not sufficient evidence to convict on charges, and a judgement of not guilty was handed down. Frank Walters, husband of the female defendant, swore out the warrant. He and his wife have not lived together in several months.
From the front page of The Robesonian, Lumberton, N.C., Monday Sept. 1, 1924
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn84026483/1924-09-01/ed-1/seq-1/#words=SEPTEMBER+1%2C+1924
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