Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1905 — GUY VERDICT [ARTICLE]

GUY VERDICT

Was Unexpected and the Fine Excessive, IS CONCENSUS OF OPINION HERE. Remington Attorney Fined SBOO for Shooting at Will Kenyon Last Spring. The state case against Jasper Guy, the Remington attorney, for assault and battery with intent to kill his step-son-in-law, Will Kenyon, last May, was tried in |the circuit court here Tuesday and Wednesday, with Ralph W. Marshall as special judge, and resulted in a verdict of guilty of assault and battery only, and a fine of SBOO. The costs of the case will no doubt ruß-the total up to over SI,OOO. The case was given to the jury about sp. m. Wednesday,and an agreement was reached at about 10J30 o’clock and a sealed verdict returned, which was opened, by the court at reconvening Thursday morning. ; This case was the first trial for the jury, and the verdict came as a surprise to practically everyone who was familiar with the facts or heard the evidence. There were a large number of witnesses in the case, and it occupied the whole of two days. Those who had watched the case closely looked for an acquittal or a nominal fine at most, but not for anything like the fine imposed, which was within S2OO of the maximum. The matters leading up to this shooting affair have been published in most of the newspapers in this and neighboring counties, and are familiar to most of our readers. To be brief, Mr. Guy and his second wife have had domestic troubles during the past year, and a suit for divorce, a suit for damages and two state cases instituted by him were pending in court here. Kenyon married Mrs. Guy’s daughter fey a previous marriage, and the evidence was to the effect that he bad made threats that he would whip Guy because of these suits; that he had pushed the latter off the sidewalk a time or two when he met him. Several reputable Remington people had gone to Guy and told him of these alleged threats, and the latter being small of stature and much the inferior of Kenyon physically, had become afraid that he would be badly beaten, and had armed himself for the protection of his person from assault. On the day the shooting took place, Guy claims that he saw Kenyon on the street about noon and purposely waited until he had started home before he himself had started for dinner and thus avoid meeting him. Kenyon lives on the west side of North Ohio street, and Guy on the east side, and both had started home on their respective sides of the street, Kenyon walking with Chas. Harris, a Remington young man who was also going home to dinner. Kenyon was considerably in advance of Guy and on the opposite side of the street, of course. Harris swore that Kenyon looked back and seeing Guy told him (Harris) to go on, he “wanted to see Guy,” and turned back and went diagonally across the street toward the latter. When Kenyon got within some twenty or thirty feet of Guy, near the north end of the Allman hardware store, the latter swore, he (Guy) asked him if he had come to give him a beating, and said Kenyon replied that he had. Gty believing that he had come to beat him, then pulled his revolver and said he told Kenyon to stop, but the latter kept coming and he fired one shot over his shoulder. This did not stop him and he then fired four more shots, one of which took effect in the wrist and another in the side or back. No one was right dose at the time of the shooting, and just what words were passed between the men is known only to themselves, but after the fifth shot Kenyon staggered back in the street and Guy then went on home with one chamber of his revolver still loaded, while Kenyon walked about a block to a doctor’s office and had his wounds dressed. Fortunately

he was not seriously hurt, and in a week was out again practically as well as ever. The evidence in the case was conflicting so far as Guy and Kenyon were concerned, the latter denying most of Guy’s statements. He stated that he went across the street to see the latter abouit some letters he had written Mrs. Guy, and not for the purpose of assaulting him, and denied making threats. The verdict is one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest, ever returned for assault and battery in this court. The jury is understood to have been 11 to 1 for a fine on first ballot, the lowest being S2OO and, the highest the limit of SI,OOO, while about half the jury wanted to impose a penitentiary sentence. The defendant is a man of very moderate circumstances, and the heavy fine will be a severe burden to him, although as he is considered honorable in his dealings, he will probably have no trouble in raising the amount. Mr. Guy was defended by Messrs. Foltz and Williams, while deputy prosecutor Leopold and A. Halleck represented the state. It is understood that a motion for a new trial will be asked for, and if denied, an c appeal to the supreme court will be taken.