OCR Text |
Show IS SEEKING RELEASE OH IDEAS CORPUS Alleged Member of the Chloral Gang Protests , Against High Bail. A writ of habeas corpus for "W. A. Houser was issued in chambers by Judge M. I j. Ritchie of the district court Sunday Sun-day afternoon, on request of John F. ; Watts, attorney for Houser. The writ, Is returnable at 10 o'clock this morning before Judge Ritchie, who will then hear argument as to whether Houser shall be liberated on bond of $500 or a higher bond set. The affidavit on which the writ was Issued states that when Houser was given a preliminary hearing by Judge K. A. rogers in the city court his bail was fixed at $50 it. Saturday, when Watts appeared ap-peared with bondsmen and gave bail for $5u0, the affidavit savs. Judge Rogers arbitrarily raised the ball to $lu00, which was not forthcoming. Houser is accused of drugging and robbing rob-bing H. M. St. Cyr. a mining engineer. After the hearing before Judge Rogers Houser was sent to the county jail to await trial In the district court. While in the county jail he and four other men charged that while in the city jail they had been tortured by Chief of Detectives Joseph F. Sharp and other police officers offi-cers in an effort to secure confessions from them. Judge Rogers, when informed yesterday yester-day of the issuing of the writ, said that the bail of $500 was fixed by him before he had heard the testimony. After hearing hear-ing the testimony he decided that the alleged drugging made the offense more serious than he had supposed. He declared de-clared the bondsmen offered by Watts had neither of them any real estate, and that when he was examining them as to their propertv qualilicatlons they refused to sign the $1000 bonds. "I was in some doubt as to my right to admit the man to .bail, as all the papers pa-pers in the case had been transferred to the district court, and the matter might be said to be out of my hands," said Judge Rogers. "1 believe that I am right In insisting upon the higher bail, in view of the circumstances and the seriousness of the crime alleged." |