The Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, W. Va.
Tuesday Morning, May 28, 1912

SAW ALLEN IN ACT OF FIRING

Attorney Testifies That Claude Held Gun In Both Hands and Fired It Twice.

Wytheville, Va., May 7. —(Special.) The commonwealth rested this morning in the case of Claude Swanson Allen, after hearing the evidence of a single witness, Detective Lucas, of the Baldwin-Felts agency. Mr. Lucas captured Claude Allen in Carroll county about ten days after the tragedy. He testified in the amount of money the prisoner had on his person at the time of his capture. He had $84.04.

Some ten or a dozen witnesses were disposed of during the morning session of the court for the defense. They were mostly character witnesses and it is believed that the defense lost ground in the cross-examination of Attorney Walter S. Tipton, who was in the court at the time of the shooting, and was representing Floyd Allen.

The witness testified to seeing Claude Allen in the court house and saw him with a pistol raised in both hands as if he had just fired it at some one. Looking at him the second time he again saw him with his pistol raised, and holding it in both hands, saw him shoot. This fixes the matter so far as the prisoner being engaged in the shooting up of the court and the court officers by one of his own witnesses.