Court Cases

EARP, JONES, WATKINS, WOOD

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 2/28/2015 at 15:10:06

Negro Who Shot Jones Turned Loose
Jail Door Opens for Owen Watkins who Killed Negro near Rock Island Freight Yards Some Weeks Ago
Grand Jury Failed to Return Indictment
County Attorney and Jurors Didn’t think Conviction Possible – Harry Woods Negro, who Broke into Earp Home, Indicted on Two Counts.
Owen Watkins, the Negro who shot and killed “Red Horse Jones”, another Negro near the Rock Island freight yards was turned out of the county jail yesterday a free man. After a large grist of witnesses had been presented to the grand jury by county attorney the jurors decided that the killing had been done in self-defense and accordingly no indictment was returned against him. The announcement comes as a great surprise for it was felt quite generally that the Watkins trial would be one of the sensations of the December term of court.

Out of ten indictments returned by the grand jury only two have been made public, the other eight will be made known later.
Harry Wood, colored, was held by the jury on two counts; breaking and entering and assault with intent to rob. The crime is alleged to have been committed at the home of Mrs. Ella Earp, in northeast Newton, a week ago. It was shot Tuesday, that the case would be heard at this term of court.
Source: Newton Daily News; December 4, 1919, page 1, col. 5