Three Criminal Cases In Vermilion

In the very early years of Vermilion, as the community was slowly coming together, there were problems with some individuals who couldn’t stay on the right side of the law.

In early February 1910, three criminal cases were presented at the district court to Judge Taylor who was presiding.

In the first case, a Vermilion man was charged with attempting to steal a white steer from another man off his property. The name of the person accused was not listed, nor was the person who owned the steer. Due to the indefiniteness of the charge, it was decided that judgement would be reserved until after the sitting of the full court in April. It would be decided at that point if there was to be a charge of theft.

In the second case, Arthur McGuinness was arraigned on a charge of perjury. It was alleged that he had information taken by P.G. Dilkie, who had charged A.D. Carmichael with theft, that Carmichael received a cheque for $319 from McGuinness. McGuinness said that the check should be applied to the purpose of paying off $250 that McGuinness and Carmichael were indebted to the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Vermilion. The case was dismissed on the ground of insufficient evidence.

The final case involved Fred Williams, who went by the alias F.W. Burch. He was charged with stealing a razor from Edwin Johnston of Vermilion on Jan. 3, 1910. He had three previous convictions against him for petty theft. At the time of the theft, he was under a suspended sentence on one of those convictions. Despite this, the evidence against him was not sufficient for his committal and he was released.

That was just a quick look at some true crime in Vermilion 116 years ago.

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