OCR Text |
Show ' and use, her. I wrfa willing to gle the horse up, when the owner canio after it." The district attorney states that if the hoy is lolling the truth, ho is lint guilty of Fteall.ng and that ho should not he sent to the penitentiary. The lioy told the court that he had never heen in""troub!o before, except that he had been required to appear before a truancy officer for failure to attend school. He also stated that lie was IS years old, last June, and that his parents live in this city. Hit; parents were not In the court room to hear the sentence, or lu any way to aid the young man in his difficulty. INVESTIGATE' PETERSON'S STORY In th criminal division of the dis trlct court this morning, Clarence Peterson pleaded guilty to the charge ot grand larceny, but, upon the suggestion sug-gestion of District Attorney N. J. Harris, Har-ris, the passing of sentence was deferred de-ferred until next TliuiMlay morning. In the meantime an investigation will be made concerning the ttatenienls that the young man made to the court in answer to quest inns propounded to him by Judge Howell regarding the offense of-fense to which he had pleaded guilty. "In the face of the statements made by the boy, your honor, J think the passing of sentence should &o over and that the officers make an invoti-gfitin invoti-gfitin to determine whether the young man is telling the truth." said Attorney Harris to the court, and It was so ordered. When ainiigned before the court Peterson stated lhat he guilty ot taking the horse but that he found it along the roadway and supposed thut it bail been lost from the totk jards in this city. "I had learned," the defendant said." that horses had been lost at the yards and, when I saw th'is mare In the road, I thought she was one of them. I made up my mind that I would take her ami that, if no owner was found, I would keep her. I did not steal her, I took her because I thought she was a lost animal. "The mare was lame and she let nic walk riht up to her, I took her to the jungles along the Weber river and carried hay to her. One night, as I was returning from the place where I kept the mare, one of the officers met me aud usked mo about the mare. I told him that 1 had the animal and 1 took him to where she was. He led her away and asked a dark com-plexloued com-plexloued man if they had lost anv horses thete. and he told me that he did not know of any. It was them lhat I concluded to keep the animal |