On Tuesday night two men named Wm. Simmons and John Slavin were arrested by Deputy Marshal Donovan, at the house of the latter, in the upper part of the city, charged with having stolen a lot of bacon from Mrs. Eliza Beedle, two miles above town. On searching the house, the meat was found, and also a large lot of school books, Bibles, testaments, etc., which have since been identified as belonging to the plank road school-house, in Allison prairie, and which were stolen within the past week.
On Wednesday morning, Simmons was arraigned before Mayor Greene, and recognized to court in the sum of $300, failing to give which he was sent to jail.
Slavin was afterwards put upon trial, but, after argument by his attorney, Nat. Usher, and W. B. Robinson, State's attorney, he was discharged on account of insufficiency in the affidavit. He was afterwards taken before Esq. Woodman, on a warrant from his office, and from thence a change of venue taken to Esq. Rielly's.
These parties get the credit of having nearly cleaned out the upper part of town and the surrounding country of chickens, geese, and other poultry.
Vincennes (Indiana) Weekly Western Sun, March 6, 1869.
John Slavin, examined before Esq. Rielly, on a change of venue from Esq. Woodman, last Thursday, was discharged by the former upon the same ruling as made by Mayor Greene, in the examination of the case before him, on Wednesday. Slavin is again under arrest and in jail, and will be next tried before Esq. Mayes.
Vincennes (Indiana) Weekly Western Sun, March 13, 1869.
Our notice of the examination of Slavin before the Mayor, last Wednesday, was calculated to do injustice to W.B. Robinson, Esq., State's attorney. The affidavit was not held as "insufficient" account of any error or informality, but the motion of defendant's counsel to quash the affidavit was sustained upon the ground that as one party had already been examined and recognized to court on a charge of having stolen the identical articles and at the same time as charged in the affidavit against Slavin, that was an entirety within itself-- that two parties could not be separately charged with the same larceny, unless one was indicted as principal and the other as accessory.
Vincennes (Indiana) Weekly Western Sun, March 13, 1869.
John Slavin, whose arrest and examination before several magistrates we have already noticed,
was finally discharged a few days ago, but immediately thereafter he was waited upon by some
Illinois friends and invited to take a ride in an omnibus, which they had close by. Their
importunities could not be resisted, and so Slavin rode to Lawrenceville with his
before-mentioned friends. At the end of his journey he was shown a documents charging him
with the larceny of some twenty or thirty dollars worth of books, etc., from the Plank-road
school-house, in Lawrence county, (also previously referred to in our paper.) We believe he
has been taken to Olney for safekeeping. From all accounts, Slavin is a great rouge.
Vincennes (Indiana) Weekly Western Sun, March 20, 1869.