CRIMINAL COURT
Crowley Signal April 15, 1899
News Article from Adadia Parish
Submitted by Winston Boudreaux, 2006

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CRIMINAL COURT
Crowley Signal April 15, 1899

Monday was the opening day of the criminal term of curt, and a large number 
of people were about the court house. District Attorney Lee Garland and 
Judge Dupre arrived Sunday and were on hand to early Monday morning. 
While there are not a great many cases to come up before the term; yet a 
number of those to be tried are of especial interests to many in the parish.
Chas Brown accused of embezzling $2000 from Green & Shoemaker, also of 
other crooked dealing had entered a plea sometime ago of not guilty. He had 
expected to make a fight, but the feeling of the general public was so intense, 
that after talking with friends and being shown the uselessness of any fight on 
the case, he came into court Monday morning and withdrew his former plea on 
not guilty and entered a plea of guilty.

The case of Wm Riley, accused with cutting with intent to murder, was tried 
this morning and given to the jury about two o’clock. The affaire took place in 
Prairie Hayes last July, when Riley made an assault upon Joe Pechell.
The following arraignments were made Monday morning:

	*	J. Danders, larceny, entered a plea of not guilty.  Bond fixed at $100. 
	*	Herbert Baptist, refusing to work on public roads, entered a plea of
		not guilty, bond fixed at $50. 
	*	Dupe LeBlanc, refusing to work on public roads, entered a plea of not 
		guilty, bond fixed at $50. 
	*	Nat Sinnet entered a plea of guilty to the charge of now working on 
		public roads. He has been in jail twenty days, not furnished bond, and 
		he was sentenced to twenty-four hours more in jail. 
	*	Gerasin Meche was fined $25 and costs or thirty days in jail for 
		violating the Sunday law.

A jury was empaneled Tuesday in the case of the Miller-Morris Canal Co. vs. 
L.A. Bergeron et al, and ordered to return on June 19 to resume the trial of the case.

The jury was drawn for the week was finally discharged, as was also the one 
drawn for the week beginning July 17th, and the clerk ordered to notify them of 
their discharge.

	*	In the case of Felix Roy, tried Monday for abduction, the district 
		attorney abandoned the case after hearing the evidence for the 
		prosecution, and the judge ordered the jury to acquit the prisoner.
		Only two days was consumed in trying felonies, after an interval of
		five months. It is a striking illustration of the decrease of crime 
		in this parish.
	*	Chas. Brown came up for sentence before Judge Dupre Wednesday, 
		having changed his plea of not guilty to guilty. The charge against him 
		was that of embezzlement, for which the limit of seven years in the 
		penitentiary. He was given three years. This is considered a light 
		sentence, and with the “good time” allowed, will enable him to finish 
		the time in about two years and five or six months.
	*	John Thomas who attempted to steal money from F. Walker on the 
		streets a couple of weeks ago, was brought up and pleaded guilty. He 
		was given a sentence of five years.