The Superior Court for the trial of criminal actions opened here on Monday, August 17, for a one-week session. Hon. W.A. Devin of Oxford is presiding, and Solicitor Clawson L. Williams has in hand the calendar which is composed of 86 cases. Due to a few cases which have consumed more than their allotted time, the court has not kept up with the schedule as set by the calendar. The following cases have been disposed of:
Junius Hocutt, a negro, charged with rape, entered a plea of guilt of an attempt. Prayer for judgment requiring bond for good behavior for two years was taken in this case.
Worth Allen, charged with carrying a concealed weapon, was found guilty and judgment was suspended upon payment of costs.
In the case of Purdee Lee the solicitor asked for a nol pros with leave. Tom Barbour was called but was out of county. A judgment absolute on the bond was entered in his case.
George Capps, white of Selma, was charged with bigamy. The solicitor took a nol pros with leave in this case.
Vander Tomlinson and Buck Rogers, white, were charged with fornication and adultery. They were called and judgement absolute was entered against their bond.
J.E. Lewis, former café man of Smithfield, was charged with forgery. He was called and failed. Nisi sei fa and capias was ordered in his case.
Dobin Wheeler, connected with the Elevation township meat theft in which over $500 worth of hams were stolen in one night last spring, was called but having broken jail and escaped, there was no trial in this case. His confederate, W.D. Faircloth, went to trial and was found guilty and sentenced to two years on the roads in Smithfield township.
Dennis Batten and J.W. Hudson were charged with fornication and adultery. They were absent and nisi sci fa and capias was entered in their case. A like entry was made in the case of A.P. Stephenson, charged with forgery and Willie McCreel, charged with rape.
Charlie Williams, a negro from Benson, charged with forgery, was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months on the Smithfield Township roads.
Oliver Baker, white, charged with forgery, was found guilty and was assigned to work eight months on the Smithfield township roads.
James Utley, young white man of Smithfield, plead guilty to a charge [of] prison escape and larceny. Judgment was retained in his case until the close of the term.
James Pleasant, white, charged with larceny, was found guilty and sentenced to work two years on the roads of Smithfield township.
In the case of state vs. Ed House, Joe and Walter Evans, charged with robbing the store of S.J. Hinton of O’Neals township during last March, House had escaped arrest and was not tried. Walter Evans, 20-year-old son of Joe Evans, plead guilty to his part of the stealing and tried to exonerate his father, but the jury found the older man also guilty. The young man received a sentence of 12 months on the roads and his father got four months.
Leonard Talton, white man of Princeton, charged with leading a mob in assault in the night time upon the home of a Mr. Dixon of Boon Hill township and taking therefrom a negro and flogging him, this happening on the night of the 10th of May, 1925, was acquitted for want of sufficient evidence.
Ed Jennette, charged with an assault upon his wife, was given continued prayer for judgment for a period of two years.
Allen Cox, a negro of Bentonsville township, was found guilty of violating the prohibition laws and given eight months on the roads. Cox had formerly been tried in the Recorder’s Court on this charge and found guilty and sentenced to six months on the roads.
Cap Raynor, white man, charged with larceny, was found guilty but judgment was suspended upon payment of costs.
Eddie Lee, colored, was in court under four warrants, charged with disorderly conduct, carrying a concealed weapon, and violating the prohibition laws, to all of which he plead guilty He was assigned to work on the Smithfield township roads for four months.
The only murder case coming up for trial in this term was that of Willie Jackson, a South Carolina negro, who was quartered with a railroad force near Four Oaks last spring. He was charged with killing one Solomon Parsons, also a negro. His case went before the court on a modified charge, that of manslaughter. The solicitor in stating the case disclosed that trouble arose between the negro over 10 ents which the man Solomon Parsons had lost in a game of crap. He became wordy and began making threats which were followed by shots from a pistol in his hand. Defendant Jackson then resorted to his pistol and made quick work with the deceased man. Under the mitigating circumstances, the defendant was given a road sentence of only four months.
From the front page of The Smithfield Herald, Friday morning, August 21, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073982/1925-08-21/ed-1/seq-1/
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