Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 22 August 1902
A New Conisborough Man Sent to Prison.
Assault on the Police
At the Rotherham West Riding Police Court on Monday, Joseph Shaw, miner, New Conisborough, was charged in custody with assaulting the police at ,Hooton Robert’s. on the 17th August.
Mr. W. J. Bradford defended the prisoner.
P.c. Stones said the previous morning, at a quarter to four o’clock, he was on duty at Hooton Roberts, in company with PC Lewsley, on the old road leading to Denaby. Coming down the lane, they got near to Hooton Gorse, and when they got near the hedge they heard some men talking together, and proceeding across a grass field they all came over a gate near to where witness and Lewsley were, and they noticed that each had a bag on their backs.
Witness went up to the men and asked “What have you got there? They suspected they had been poaching. As soon as the witness had spoken the prisoner shouted to them, ”stand back,” at the same time taking a stone out of his pocket. He threw it at witness, catching him on the left elbow, leaving a mark. The prisoner was then six or seven yards away. Witness wanted to see what was in their bags, as he suspected that something was not right. The prisoner said they would not see what they had in their bags, and added that they had better not touch them, as it would be worse for them.
They would make it warm for them if they interfered. They continued to throw stones at them, but not hit them. Witness and Lewsley did not make any farther attempt to search the men, and they (the men) went across a field in the direction of Denaby. In consequence of the prisoner hitting him with a stone, witness and Lewsley went to Denaby and then on to New Conisboro’, where they saw the prisoner and another man coming down Doncaster road by themselves, but they had no bags with them. They made to get near to them, but they bolted down a side street. They gave chase, and caught the prisoner on his own door step; the other man ran away. He charged him with assaulting him, and be replied that he knew nothing about it. He was positive the prisoner was the man; he had known him for five or six months.
Cross – examined by Mr Lewsley, witness said when they arrested the prisoner he said he had been mushrooming. The previous witness did not charging with poaching.
Mr Bradford, for the defence, submitted that it was a trivial assault; it seemed that the prisoner went out mushrooming early in the morning.
Defendant was sworn, and said on the date in question he went into a field known in known as the 20 acre, mushrooming. He was never near Hooton Roberts. He went out by himself, and was of opinion that the policeman had taken him for another man.
Anne Coxhead said she saw the two constables thrashing the prisoner when they caught him. Prisoner lodged with her.
There were previous convictions against the prisoner, who was now sent to prison for 14 days.