The Fort Dodge Messenger: May 15, 1905
Newberry is Fined $25 and Costs
The Case is Carried Up and Will Be Tried in the District Court
A Motion for Dismissal
A Motion for Dismissal, Which Was Made by the Defendant Was Over Ruled and This Resulted in Appeal Court Room Jammed.
W.F. Newberry, in police court was this morning fined $25 and costs on the charge of assaulting an officer. The case was, however, appealed to the district court and the defendant placed under bond to appear at the nest term.
The assault which formed the foundation of the case occurred Saturday morning when the defendant assaulted Charles Braden, dog marshal, while Braden was engaged in catching one of his (Newberry’s) dogs. The trial of the case covered a considerable part of the forenoon and was listened to with great interest by a crowd that packed the city hall to the doors.
There were a number of witnesses examined on both sides of the case and all of them agreed that there was a scuffle between the defendant and the prosecuting witness, stating the fact that the defendant struck the plaintiff from two to three times.
The defense made no denial of the fact that the assault had been made, but took the grounds that the mayor under the existing ordinance, had no right to appoint a dog catcher to catch dogs at this time; the ordinace (sic), according to the defense states that the dog tax is payable on or before June 1, 1905. Under this clause the motion alleges that there could legally be no dog catcher appointed, and that such dog catcher had no official duties to perform under the law until that time – June 1.
The motion also took the stand that under the circumstances the dog catcher had no right to touch the dog; that in consideration of this fact, the dog catcher, in taking the animals was in the position of a thief taking the property that did not belong to him; that the defendant in protecting his property used no more force than was necessary to prevent the dog catcher from taking the dog.
This motion was overruled by his honor, and the sentence pronounced placing the above fine and the costs of the case on the defendant.
The story of the prosecuting witness was to the effect that the dog was out in front of the Duncombe House at the time the trouble occurred. He, the dog catcher, started for the animal, when Newberry warned him: “If you touch that dog, I’ll break every bone in your body?”
In spite of the warning Braden reached for the animal with his snare, and this was what precipitated the trouble. Newberry, according to the testimony at this point ran in and struck the dog catcher three times. Braden also alleges that the defendant tore off his star and took his snare away from him. The dog catcher then telephone to the city hall and the action was begun.
Newberry’s story of the occurrence was about the same in a general way with the exception that he denied hitting Braden, stating that he merely shoved him.
According to other witnesses, the dog “Trixy” had been brought out of the barn to kill some rats that had been caught in the Duncombe house. She had finished the job and was lingering about the place when the dog catcher appeared and attempted to catch her.
During the taking of the testimony the facts of the crippled condition of the dog catcher and the great strength of the defendant were brough (sic) prominently to the front, and Frank Farrell, the attorney for the prosecution in his closing plea, created a mild sensation in the court room by denouncing the defendant as a coward.
(Editor’s note: The original article is here: The Dog Marshal’s Life is Strenuous. I believe there was a hotel called Duncombe House.)
