Is this your Adrian Hoskins ?

Hamilton Daily News
Hamilton, Ohio
16 June 1926

HOSKINS CASE
TESTIMONY HAS
BEEN FINISHED

Defendant In Murder Charge
Takes Stand — Tells Of
Blows

Case of Adrian Hoskins, 31, of 555
Main street indicted for second degree
murder was expected to go to the
jury some time this afternoon. Argument
was started early Wednesday
morning and each side was allowed
one hour and a half for argument.
Prosecutor P. P. Boli expected to make
the final argument when court opened
this afternoon.
Hoskins is charged with killing
Harry Booth, 47, bartender, in a fight
at the Jackson cafe, Sixth and Vine
streets Sunday afternoon, April 11.
He pleaded self defense, claiming
Booth had attacked him with a club.
C. C. Pullums, engineer and Officer
Ralph Slade, who had found the
club some distance from the scene of
the crime, were the last defense witnesses.
Judge N. Craig McBride, of Billsboro,
who is hearing the case, issued
some special charges before argument
at the request of attorneys for the
defense.
Adrian Hoskins took the stand in
his own defense shortly before 4 P.
M. Tuesday. He said after a friendly
scuffle with Herman Leugers,
Harry Booth came from behind the
bar and hit him a blow with the palm
of his hand which knocked him to
the floor.
When he arose, he said, he was
near the east end of the bar and
Booth was coming at him with a club.
Booth hit him on the head, he said,
but he grabbed the club. Booth
wrenched it loose and struck him
again. Hoskins said he reached for
his knife but did not remember what
happened after that.
Then he left the place, he said,
went to Coke Otto, where he had a
colored man call John Barger at 5
South B street, to tell the police to
come and get him.
Different Blade
On cross examination Hoskins said
he remembered reaching for the
knife in his back pocket and remembered
opening the knife but did not
know what he did with it after that.
He refused to identify a knife shown
him by Prosecutor P. P. Boli but
he said it looked something like the
one he had, except it had a different
blade.
Asked where he had obtained the
knife, Hoskins said he borrowed it
from a man named Hart the morning
of the killing and had forgotten to
return it to him. He generally carried
a small knife, he said, but had
changed clothing that day and forgot
to bring the knife with him. He
used Hart's knife, he said, to trim
his finger nails.
Hoskins said first information he
had that Booth had been hurt was
when he heard someone in the cafe
say so. He did not remember seeing
Booth, he said.
Brother To Rescue
John A. Barger, 922 Summer
street, said he had been at the
Jackson place that afternoon, having
gone there with Zachary Hoskins,
Brother of the accused man and another
Hoskins whose first name he
did not know.
His attention was attracted, he
testified, when Zachary came running
out of the back room and shouted:
"Don't let anyone hurt my brother."
Zachary hit Booth, he said and
Adrian hit "Andy" Jackson, proprietor
of the place. Barger said he
pulled Adrian Hoskins off Booth behind
the bar and sat him down on a
chair. Then he saw that Hoskins
had a knife in his hand.
When he grabbed Adrian, he said,
he released his hold on Zachary who
went after Booth, took the club away
from Booth and struck Booth with
it until he went down.
Adrian Hoskins and Booth met at
east end of the bar, Barger said,
Both struck at the same time and
Hoskins struck Booth in the chest.
Recalls Capture
Barger said Joe Evans, detective,
accompanied him and arrested
Adrian Hoskins after Barger had
been notified by telephone that he
was at Coke Otto.
Herman Leugers said he was
standing in the Jackson place when
Adrian Hoskins came alone; and
struck him a friendly blow on the
cheeks. Then he went away, he said,
and saw nothing of the trouble which
followed. There was no ill feeling
between him and Hoskins, he said
Ben Hollins of 7 Booth street, said
Booth had come from behind the bar
separated Leugers and Adrian
Hoskins who were in a scuffle. A
general melee followed.
What was the next thing you
did Hollins was asked.
"I next went out of the place,"
he said. Spectators laughed and
McBride rapped for order.
Zachary Hoskins, who had been
held in jail in default of bond as
a material witness for 43 days, was
the last defense witness. He told of
going to the place with Barger and
????? Hoskins, a third cousin.
???????????????????? he said he was
given a drink of white liquor. When
he came out three or four men were
engaged in a fight. He rushed up
he said, struck Booth twice and saw
blood running from Booth's' nose.
Booth came from behind the bar,
he said, with a club and struck
Adrian over the head. When Barger
released his hold, Zachary said, he
went between his brother and Booth
attempted to wrest the club from
Booth, for a minute, Booth who was
staggering, held on, he said, then
released his hold. He denied he
struck Booth with the club.
"He may have been struck during
the scuffle," he said.
Zachary said when he looked
around for Adrian, he was gone and
he started in search of him but was
taken into custody at a garage near
his brother's home, after he had
made a second trip there.
The state had rested it's case just
after court opened in the afternoon.