State v. Jack

• Decision Date: 27 November 1903
• Citation: 20 Del. 470,58 A. 833
• Court: Court of General Sessions of Delaware
• Parties: STATE v. CHARLES W. JACK

58 A. 833

20 Del. 470

STATE v. CHARLES W. JACK

Court of General Sessions of Delaware, New Castle County

November 27, 1903

Court of General Sessions, New Castle County, November Term, 1903.

INDICTMENT FOR ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO COMMIT MURDER.

At the trial, Doctor James R. Mahaffy, a veterinary physician, the prosecuting witness, who was assaulted by the defendant on the thirteenth of October, 1903, testified in substance concerning the assault, as follows:

That the defendant called upon him on the day of the assault, at his office No. 904 Jackson Street, in the City of Wilmington and stated that he had a friend out at Blue Ball who had two horses hurt and asked if the doctor would go out to see them stating that he had been at the office in the morning and was informed that the doctor was out but that he would be in about one o'clock, and that he had therefore come back for him.

Mahaffy informed the defendant that he would be ready to go with him in about one-half or three-quarters of an hour and asked him where the place was located where his services were wanted. That Jack, the defendant, told him to "go out the Concord Pike, turn to your right at the blacksmith shop at Blue Ball, and then turn out the cross-roads." That Jack then stated that if the doctor would go right away and come right back, he would go out with him, to which the doctor assented. That Jack then went with the doctor to the latter's hospital where he was treating some horses, and when that work was finished they both got in the doctor's buggy and drove down Washington Street, and out across Washington Street Bridge to the Concord Pike; Jack directing the doctor (after turning to the right at the blacksmith shop at Blue Ball) as to the road to the place where the alleged horses were sick, viz., one Mr. Miller's. After making several turns they passed a certain farm-house and the defendant said, "It is the next farm down here" that they came to that farm and he then said, "I did not mean this one, I meant the next one on the left." That the doctor started to drive to the next farm on the left and Jack said, "Wait a moment, I am a little mixed on this myself," and started to get out of the buggy, but seeing some men working in a field near the road he called to them and asked where Mr. Miller lived, and they said, "The next farm on your right." Witness then continued:

"I could see the next farm further down on the right and I remarked about such a long greenhouse that was back of the house, and Jack said, 'Yes, they are mainly truck farmers.' We went on until we were almost to the gate, as I thought that I saw a gate, he pointed with his left hand and said, 'Here is where you turn in,' and I did not see any place there where I could turn in and I leaned a little bit forward and down to see what he meant, and my recollection is that he was indicating where we could turn down to go into the greenhouses, not the regular road, and I leaned a little bit forward to see, then the crash came and I felt as though somebody had run into us from behind and as if something had hit me in the back of the head. I remember dropping the lines and my face almost touching the dashboard. Then the second shot came and I felt a stinging sensation here on the top of my head and the thought flashed through my mind that he was shooting. And I straightened up, turned around a little and put my left arm around his neck, and as I did so I looked right into the muzzle of the revolver; I pushed the revolver and gripped it and twisted it out of his hand. When the third shot went off, it struck the mare on the spine or the side of the hip bone, and she started to run and by that time I had taken the revolver away from him and the mare had run into the ditch and stopped, and as I had my arm around his neck and the revolver in my hand, he slipped his head from under my arm and jumped out and started to run down the road and I got out of the wagon and tried to fire the revolver at him but by that time my finger was feeling numb and the arm felt like your foot does when it is asleep, and it just dropped. I remember his turning around as I lifted the revolver up and he started to take his coat off as he was running, and then he ran into the ditch; the last I can remember is of his running towards the side of the road into the ditch. I walked a little ways back along the road and called and a man and a woman came out and said, 'What is the matter?' and I said 'somebody has shot me,' and he said, 'You are sure you did not shoot yourself?' and I said, 'yes; what did I want to shoot myself for?' and said I wanted someone to take me to Wilmington with my team, and they said 'You cannot go with your team, your horse has been shot', and the lady took me in the house and bound up my neck; then the man hitched up a team and drove me to town. As we were going in there was so much blood coming down on this left side that I imagined the bullet had punctured the jugular vein, and I remember holding my finger up to it to try to stop it and I remember the warm blood running down my finger. The ambulance met us somewhere at the Blue. Ball and took me to my home."

The doctor's injuries were a wound made by a bullet...