Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1911 — PARR DRUGGIST ESCAPES ON FAULTY INDICTMENT. [ARTICLE]

PARR DRUGGIST ESCAPES ON FAULTY INDICTMENT.

First Case Against A. E. Kirk Thrown Out Because Prosecutor Failed To Allege Occupation. The failure of Prosecuting Attorney Fred Longwell to allege in an indictment charging A. E. Kirk with an illegal sale of liquor to allege that Kirk was running a drugstore, made it easy for the first Of a half dozen Indictments against Kirk to be thrown out of court. The indictment charged that on Dec. 15th, A. S. Lowman, of Parr, purchased a gill of whiskey of Kirk. Lowman and W. L. Wood Were the witnesses for the state. When the prosecutor began making his statement to the jury, J. A. Dunlap, the attorney for Kirk-, began objections. When Longwell stated that he would show that Kirk conducted a drugstore at Parr, the defendant’s attorney objected on the ground that the indictment did not allege that he was running a drug store at Parr. This was serious enough to cause the case to be thrown out of court and there was no way of getting it back in court again, thus amounting to the quashing of the indictment. The five other indictments against Kirk were all similarly at fault, but as the cases had not been set for trial, the indictments can be corrected, and, unless other insufficiencies are found, the cases will come to trial, but probably not at the present term of court.

Before the first case against Kirk was started Judge Hanley ruled against granting the defendant a change of venue from the county. This request had not been made previously and Judge Hanley’s position was that, since the time for the trial had been agreed upon, there was not sufficient grounds for granting the request. The outcome, however, was very satisfactory to the defendant, as he could have escaped no easier had the change been granted.