Barbershop Booze Trial Ends in Acquittal
Three men accused of selling liquor without a license in a barber shop walk free after a jury trial.
A verdict of acquittal was rendered by the jury in Judge Easterday's court yesterday afternoon in the case of the city of Tacoma against Peter Leonard, Frank O'Leary and George J. Burdick. The three men, who were charged with having sold liquor without a license, were recently fined $50 and costs by Judge Arntson in police court. The city attorneys attempted to show that the saloon men had sold liquor in a barber shop adjoining their saloon.
“The city attorneys attempted to show that the saloon men had sold liquor in a barber shop adjoining their saloon.”
This trial highlights the persistent cat-and-mouse game between local law enforcement and business owners during the pre-Prohibition era, when Tacoma was aggressively regulating alcohol access.
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