“John Brown – 9/5/1927-9/10/1927”

Case(s)
Source Type: Newspaper
Publisher: The Selma Times-Journal
Place of publication: Selma, AL
Date of publication: 9/6/1927 0:00
Transcript:

NEGRO HELD FOR ATTACK EFFORT IN HALE COUNTY
Woman Fails To identify Black, However
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Sept 6 — Still holding the prisoner in the county jail here, officers hope to gather convincing evidence that John Brown, a negro whose car bore a Birmingham tag is guilty of an attempted assault upon a white woman about a mile across the Tuscaloosa county line in Hale county yesterday morning. The woman viewed the negro in the county jail here yesterday but was unable to satisfactorily identify him.
Tuscaloosa deputy sheriffs, John Payne and Lawrence Coleman captured the negro at Taylorville in this county yesterday morning about 9 o’clock, following the attempted attack near Moundville. They brought him to this city after stopping his car by shooting a hole in in a rear tire he refused to halt and turned him over to Moundville officers. They started back to Moundville with him, but learned that considerable feeling was being displayed in the Moundville community and turned back to Tuscaloosa.
The Hale county woman upon viewing the negro held here, said the negro who attacked her wore overalls and old shoes with one of the shoes split at the toe, while the negro held here was fairly well dressed. Messages from Moundville when the alarm was sounded, however, described the negro held here very accurately and it is said that the negro boy who was in the car with him says he stopped in the home of a white woman to get a drink of water.
Again Tuscaloosa officers have found where on the road to Tuscaloosa the negro arrested rushed into a little store by the side of the road and bought a bottle of turpentine. He had some blood on him, it is said. He seemed to be in a hurry and would not wait until the purchase was wrapped up.
Gaining entrance into the home of a white woman in the country near Moundville early yesterday morning, it was learned here the negro grappled with the woman and when she screamed he threatened her with a knife. The woman, badly frightened, made her escape from the house and alarmed the community. The negro fled. When she failed to identify the negro here yesterday afternoon it is said, residents of the Moundville community spent the night in a fruitless search throughout the neighborhood.