Dan McEwen, alias Jack Burke, together with two of his pals, who gave their names as George Davis and Edward Lyons, were last Friday bound over to the circuit court by Mayor Krost, of Crown Point, charged with petty larceney, with assault and battery with the intent to rob and with conspiracy to rob at the Lake county fair. Each of the defendants were placed under $3,000 bonds and Burke was the only one who could furnish them and the other two will have to stay in jail until the trial comes up at the next term of the circuit court.
Albert Maack, of Crown Point, John Rhode, postmaster of Hammond and Antone Tapper were among the prominent witnesses called and after placing the testimony together with that of Jacob Yerga, a bus driver of Hammond and who was the complaining witness, Mayor Krost decided that the evidence was sufficient to bind all three men over to the higher court. Burke was represented by Attorney Ottenheimer, and made no defense. Attorneys Bremer and Otto Bruce appeared for the state.
The testimony submitted was to the effect that Yerga's pockets were picked of six dollars while he was watching a horse race on Thursday. When he missed the money he immediately accused one of the Chicago fellows of having robbed him, who in the meantime according to the evidence had slipped the money that was alleged to have been stolen, to Burke, who in turn is accused of having passed it on to the other Chicago man and when he accused this man of having his money. Yerga testified that Burke knocked him down.
Burke is a man about fifty years of age and has been mixed up in several affairs around the lake and at the fairs. If the men are found guilty as charged it is to be hoped they will be given the limit.
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