Court Opened May 4, 1925 for Trials of Needleman, Charged with Assaulting Girl, and Mob Who Mutilated Him

To Enter Pleas of Not Guilty. . . Needleman Ready for Trial When Court Opened at 10 O’clock

Williamston, May 4—Joseph Needleman, tobacco salesman, was ready to enter a plea of not guilty to charges of an attack on a young girl when the special term of court opened here at 10 o’clock this morning.

Described by the superintendent of the Washington, N.C., hospital where he has been under treatment for five weeks as being “sometimes bright and sometimes blue but doing mighty well under the circumstances,” Joseph Needleman was reported last night as being ready to make the trip today to Williamston where he will be indicted on a charge of attacking a 17-year-old white girl.

Judge N.A. Sinclair, presiding at Superior Court in Martin County, met in special session to consider indictments against Needleman charged with the capital offense of attacking a white girl, and a group of men charged with having taken him from jail following the alleged offense. Solicitor Gilliam indicated he would ask indictments against at least seven on the charge of having mutilated Needleman, which crime is punishable by from five to 50 years in the State’s prison. The crime of conspiracy and jail breaking, with which the others are charged and against whom indictments will be asked by the solicitor, is punishable by a fine of $500 or from two to 15 years in the State’s prison, in the discretion of the court.

The condition bringing about the request for the special term was brought about when Needleman was arrested, March 27, charged with having attacked a 17-year-old girl. He was taken from jail March 29 by a masked mob and mutilated. An investigation resulted in the arrest of a number of suspects.

Solicitor Gilliam has indicated that he will ask the grand jury to indict the following on the charge of conspiracy and breaking jail: Henry D. Griffin, Julian Bullock, Roy Gray, Edgar Johnson, Grady Smith, Sherwood Roberson, James Henry Gray, Lois Johnson, all of Robersonville; F.W. Sparrow, F.W. Sparrow Jr., Claro Heath, all of Kinston; L.A. Croom, Tom Harrell and Lester Edmundson of Gold Point; E.C. Stone, John Gurkin, John Smithwick, John Gray Corey, Tom Lilly, James H. Coltrain, Clarence Gurkin, Allen Griffin, Ben Lilly, Alfred Griffin, Albert Gurkin and John A. Gurkin, all of Griffin township, Martin County.

From the front page of The Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, Monday, May 4, 1925

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