A Stolen Rig, a Suspicious Liveryman, and a One-to-Ten-Year Sentence
James Thompson hired a rig in Colville, drove it to Addy, and tried to sell it—then found himself before two judges in a single day.
Last Saturday James Thompson engaged a rig from the Columbia stables, and, driving to Addy, offered it for sale to Walter Woodard, the liveryman there. Mr. Woodard became suspicious and telephoned to Colville, which resulted in Mr. Thompson being brought back Saturday night and held to appear before Justice W. L. Terry. On Monday afternoon Justice Terry heard the charge and bound Thompson over to the superior court under $2,000 bonds. Monday being law day, Judge D. H. Carey heard the case immediately; a plea of guilty was entered, and sentence given of from one to ten years. Thompson claimed to be under the influence of intoxicants.
“Mr. Woodard became suspicious and telephoned to Colville, which resulted in Mr. Thompson being brought back Saturday night and held to appear before Justice W. L. Terry.”
A stolen horse and buggy was the 1908 equivalent of a stolen car, and the case moved with a speed modern courts rarely match: arrest, plea, and sentence within days. The story also shows how early Stevens County justice depended on small-town suspicion and a telephone call.
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