Case Summary

Frank O'Neill, Dave Gillinsky, A.F. Pirson, Art Williams, and William Larsen, were arrested for reportedly breaking and entering into the home of Katherine C. Allisen and her daughter, Grace Allisen on 410 S. 39th St. on December 5, 1919 around 2 AM. They were taken into custody, held on bonds of $2,000 each, the same day at the Electric Garage on 40th and Farnam, where they stopped to repair their car. Upon searching their car, police officer Fred H. Peterson found three loaded guns and a crowbar. The men claimed that none of the guns were theirs and that the crowbar was only in the car to aid in changing tires. The men claimed that they were on their way to Benson, an Omaha neighborhood, to play cards with a friend of Dave Gillinsky's. On that same morning, the five men were taken back to the Allisens' house, but Katherine was unable to positively identify any of them, and she in fact said that one of the policemen bore a stronger similarity to the man she saw than any of the accused men. A preliminary hearing occurred on December 6 in front of police magistrate Charles E. Foster. In this trial, all of the men claimed alibis for the night of Thursday, December 4 and Friday, December 5. All of the men were out drinking in downtown Omaha, and several witnesses, including friends of theirs and employees of establishments they visited, testified that the men were with them that night. Notably, it came out in the trial that William Earl Adams, the Allisens' neighbor, had heard someone yell "Harold" during the robbery—none of the men were named Harold. In addition, the men's lawyer, John Battin, pointed out that the short coat that was the most recognizable attribute of the man that Mrs. Allisen saw was in fact a coat that had been issued to every man honorably discharged from the navy, and thus would have been a common sight only a year after WWI. Thus, the men filed a habeas corpus petition on December 18, 1919, which was allowed. A hearing on the petition occurred on December 19, but it was denied on the 22nd. This is perhaps because another habeas corpus petition the men filed, also against Michael L. Clark, had succeeded, allowing all of the men except Larson, for an unknown reason, to be freed. A return to writ was filed on December 27, 1919. An Omaha Daily Bee article indicates that Frank O'Neill was arrested for another robbery on January 24, 1920, and that somehow, the men were tried again and found guilty for the the Allison robbery on March 29, 1920. This was reversed and remanded, however, by the Nebraska Supreme Court on March 26, 1921.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Possession of burglary tools
• Burglary

Sites of significance

• Douglas County Jail (Omaha, Nebraska)
• The Police Court of the City of Omaha (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ denied

Fate of bound party

Released from custody|remained in custody

Case Citation

Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 22: ca. 1919 - 1920, p. 40; Douglas County District Court, Omaha, NE, RG230: Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Reel 88: Doc. 21-725 to 22-50, Nov. 6, 1919 - Dec. 2, 1919, No. 22-40

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File | Complete Record

Length of case file

Between 101 and 150 pages

Repository(s)

• Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

People

• O'Neill, Frank (petitioner)
• O'Neill, Frank (bound party)
• Gillinsky, Dave (David) (petitioner)
• Gillinsky, Dave (David) (bound party)
• Pirson, A.F. (Axel Pierson) (petitioner)
• Pirson, A.F. (Axel Pierson) (bound party)
• Williams, Art (Bart Williams) (petitioner)
• Williams, Art (Bart Williams) (bound party)
• Larsen, William (L. Larsen, William Larson) (petitioner)
• Larsen, William (L. Larsen, William Larson) (bound party)
• Clark, Michael L. (respondent)
• Clark, Michael L. (holding party)
• Foster, Charles E. (authority ordering detention)
• Foster, Charles E. (police magistrate)
• Rosenblum, Arthur (A.H. Rosenblum) (respondent attorney)
• Shotwell, Abel V. (respondent attorney)
• Battin, John W. (petitioner attorney)
• Redick, William A. (judge)

• Additional parties

  Adams, William Earl [neighborhood watchman also present at the petitioners' arrest, witness for the state]

  Allison, Grace [Katherine Allison's daughter, witness for the state]

  Allison, Katherine [witness for the state]

  Mrs. Anderson [Pierson's aunt and witness for the defense]

  Bierbower, F.R. [bowling alley proprietor and witness for the defense]

  Brown, Margaret [witness for the state]

  Coteur, S.O. [notary public]

  Cooper, John F. [Pierson's former employer]

  Mr. Daugherty [Katherine Allison's brother-in-law]

  Mrs. Daugherty [Katherine Alllison's sister and neighbor]

  Dunn, John T. [filed a complaint against the men]

  Foster, W.A. [deputy]

  Furst, Moses [witness for the defense]

  Gustoft, William [cashier at the Orpheum Gardens and witness for the defense]

  Johnson, Tom [proprietor of the Edwards Cafe and witness for the defense]

  Loch, Peter [O'Neill's friend, witness for the defense]

  Mattern, Walter [William Larson's friend]

  Olsen, James [friend of Axel Pierson]

  Ossler, William [Orpheum Gardens employee and witness for the defense]

  Peterson, Fred H. [witness for the state at Police Court hearing, police officer who arrested the petitioners]

  Mr. Rotolo [boarder at the Orpheum Gardens and witness for the defense]

  Smith, Gordon [witness for the state, Mrs. Allison's neighbor]

  Smith, Robert [clerk]

  Swan, George H. [police officer, witness for the state]

  Titsworth, Claude [employee of the Omaha Bee, witness for the defense]

  Travis, John C. [court reporter at Police Court hearing]