On Saturday, January 4, 1890, M. C. "Mick" Hayes, accompanied by his cousin John Hayes, became involved in an argument with two black men, including George Robins, near the corner of Walnut and Campbell streets in Springfield. Robins and his companion had apparently done nothing to provoke M. C. Hayes, but Mick was in an intoxicated, belligerent state. He started to pull out a revolver, but his cousin intervened to try to prevent gunplay. As the two scuffled over possession of the weapon, it discharged and struck John under the left shoulder. He fell to the sidewalk, gravely wounded. Mick Hayes then turned the gun on the black men and fired three shots, one of which struck Robins, seriously wounding him. John Hayes was taken to a nearby drugstore, where physicians tried to relieve his suffering but held out little hope for his recovery. Robins was treated at a physician's office and then taken to his sister's house.
Meanwhile, Mick Hayes fled the scene but was soon afterward apprehended at his home. Taken before a justice of the peace, he was committed to jail in default of $5,000 bond but later was released on a $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing was delayed until January 16 in order to wait and see what the result of the men's wounds might be. John Hayes, a well-respected Springfield letter carrier, died on January 15. Shortly afterward, his cousin was indicted for murder and also for felonious assault for shooting Robins, who was expected to recover.
After two or three continuances in the Greene County Circuit Court, Mick Hayes received a change of venue to Christian County. In September 1892, in an apparent plea bargain deal, the murder case against him was dropped and he pleaded guilty to the felonious assault charge. He was fined $300 and costs. Not much penalty for killing a man, his own cousin no less, and seriously wounding another.
No comments:
Post a Comment