Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1918 — ALLEGED HORSETHIEF FREED [ARTICLE]

ALLEGED HORSETHIEF FREED

/ Philip Weirich Acquitted of Cliarge of Stealing Horse of Jennie M. Conrad. The only case so far to come before the petit jury this term of court was taken up Tuesday afternoon, it being the case of the State of Indiana vs. Philip H. Weirich, and was brought to this county from Newton on chamge of. venue. Mr. Weirich for some seventeen years was a trusted employee of Jennie M. Conrad, the well-known ranch owner of the town in northern Newton bearing her name, and sometime after severing his relations with the Conrad ranch and while he was living over in Illinois, thie Newton county grand jury returned an indictment against him for stealing a horse from-Mrs. Conrad. This horse had been purchased by Rich Porter of Rensselaer, and was used on the farm of Mrs. Porter’s father, three and one-half miles north of iGoodlan'd. The horse was identified as one that had formerly been on the Mts. Conrad ranch, and was turned over by Porter to her. Weirich made good to Porter the Value of the horse, which he claimed, had been given to him by Mrs. Conrad when he was in her employ. Or, rather, that Mrs. Conrad had a horse on her ranch which was a sort of an "outlaw” and in attempting to break or work the animal Weirich was injured, and in compensation for the injury Mrs. Conrad had given him the horse. Weirich later traded the horse alleged' to have been given him by Mrs. Conrad for another animal, which he kept at the Conrad ranch and took away with him when leaving. This latter animal was the one he had sold to Porter, and Mrs. Conrad had the matter taken up by the Newton county grand jury and an indictment returned against him.

T. B. Cunningham of Kentlaind was employed by Mrs. Conrad to assist in the prosecution, while Milt Graves of Morocco and John A. Dunlap of this city were defendant’s attorneys. The case ended Wednesday afternoon, the jury being out about two hours, and returned a verdict’ of not guilty. The jury was then excused until next Monday. In the case of the State of Indiana vs. John Hayden, charged with vagrancy, defendant was found guilty and sentenced to the penal farm for sixty days, and was taken there Thursday by Sheriff B. D. McColly. He also took Floyd Moore to the Indiana Boy’s school, he having been found guilty of the charge of grand larceny.