Charles H. Lewis
ELKO FREE PRESS
March 4, 1925
LEWIS SLAYER MAY FACE JURY IN NEXT TWO WEEKS
Officers to Bend Every Effort to Speeding up Court Machinery in Case
Mexican Gunman Expected to Plead Self Defense in Shooting Case
A speedy trail, probably within the next two weeks is promised for Guadeloupe Acosta, confessed slayer of Deputy Sheriff Charles Lewis, by officials who have the matter in charge.
…Acosta Tells His Story. …According to his story of the affair, he had come into Elko on Western Pacific train 4 from the west about nine thirty. He admitted having had several drinks previous t that time but insists he was not drunk. He went into a local cafe to get some supper, and while there got into an argument with an acquaintance over paying for the meal.
This argument resulted in calling the officers and Capriola and Lewis responded, Lewis taking Acosta to jail.
When they reached the Newman-Warren corner, Acosta insists Lewis hit him, and displays two marks, a large bump on his forehead, and a long gash on the side of his face, to prove his contention.
…It is the belief of the sheriff that when the pair reached the corner which was to be Lewis’s nemesis, that the Mexican, frightened at the nearness of the jail, started to resist arrest. A scuffle then ensued, the two men crashing to the sidewalk. It was probably during the scuffle that Acosta received his injuries, the sheriff believes.
The Mexican, according to the Harris version, came up shooting, and the affair came to an abrupt termination.
Armed posses took up the chase for the fugitive, and he was discovered cowering beneath the covers in a bed not his own, in a local hotel. The fatal gun was found beneath his pillow with five shells fired, and a long knife of the Mexican variety was found concealed in his clothes.
March 4, 1925
FUNERAL OF LEWIS TOMORROW IN STARR
…In 1900 he was elected Constable of Deeth Township, which position he held, together with a deputy sheriff’s commission under Sheriff L.G. Clark and J.C. Harris, for twenty years, making an excellent record as a peace officer and being selected by his superiors for many pieces of hazardous work.
…He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Mrs. Minnie D. Lewis, a daughter, Mrs. Eldon Parsons of Beowawe; a son Virgil Lewis of Reno, a son Henry whose whereabouts are not known; four grandchildren, Millicent and Lewis Milne, Jack and Athelda Parsons; three sisters and two brothers.
Plaque Location & Image
Center Wall Column 6 Row E View The Plaque