Have you ever wondered what life was like in Jacksonville half a century ago? It was a different era of history, culture and politics but there are often parallels between the kind of stories that made headlines then and today. As interesting as the differences may be, so are the similarities. These are some of the top stories from this week in 1962. The items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives by Staff Writer Max Marbut.
• A coroner’s jury cleared a Jacksonville motorcycle police officer of any criminal charge in the fatal shooting May 4 of a 16-year-old girl on Main Street.
The jury returned a verdict that Mona Sue Houston’s death was “excusable homicide.”
The girl was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her brother, Eddie Houston, 20. They were being chased at high speed by Patrolman O.M. Koon for traffic violations at the time of the shooting.
Koon testified in his own behalf. He said he fired a warning shot, then his motorcycle began wobbling and when he put his gun hand on the handlebar of his motorcycle, the fatal shot must have discharged accidentally.
The six jurors heard testimony from 16 witnesses and returned their verdict to Justice of the Peace Genevieve Medlock after deliberating for 22 minutes.
Eddie Houston was the first witness and admitted he had passed at least one red light in his flight from the officer. He also stated that after being stopped at 18th Street by Koon, he fled the scene when the officer dismounted from his own motorcycle.
Koon testified that he was chasing Houston at very high speed and that Houston was attempting to evade apprehension by weaving in and out of heavy traffic on Main Street.
Koon said that at about 30th Street, he withdrew his revolver and fired a warning shot. He said he then immediately reached for his handlebar to swerve to avoid a collision. Koon said his gun then discharged a second time, fatally wounding the girl.
State Attorney William Hallowes conducted the interrogation of the witnesses. Just before the jury went out and at the request of an attorney representing the Houston family, Hallowes explained a recent appellate court decision in an accidental shooting case similar to the Houston case.
Hallowes said the appellate court had ruled police officers had authority to fire warning shots to attempt to stop persons fleeing from misdemeanors committed in the officer’s presence. The court also had ruled that officers could fire at such a fleeing vehicle.
• It was announced that an unspecified number of employees in the Office of Clerk of Civil and Criminal Courts of Record would be sued in an attempt to recover part of office account shortages totaling more than $100,000.
Clerk Emory Price made the announcement at a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners. He said he also would seek removal of the unnamed employees in administrative proceedings before the County Civil Service Board.
Price asked the board to join him in the Circuit Court suit to recover the funds. When the board deferred action on his request for one week, Price said he was determined to “go it alone” if necessary.
“I’m going to make an attempt to get the taxpayers’ money back, as much as I can. The governor put me in this job and I’ll carry it out. If I can’t do it, I’ll call the governor and tell him to get somebody else to do it,” Price said.
Shortages in the office’s accounts, placed by the state auditor at a minimum of $104,819.45, came about while the clerk’s post was held by Kathleen Hartley.
Hartley and her deputy, Woodrow “Woody” Richardson, were suspended from office in October 1961 and charged with embezzlement of County funds. Price, a former congressman, was appointed by Gov. Farris Bryant to replace Hartley.
Hartley and Richardson were each sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined $8,668 after pleading no contest to the charges.
A report by State Auditor Bryan Willis showed that while Hartley was clerk, six employees of the office at irregular intervals received checks described as “adjusted compensation” checks.
The checks were in amounts from $30 to $950 and totaled $11,051. They were entirely separate from regular, biweekly payroll checks, he said.
Willis said that under oath, employees of the office stated that part or all of the amounts they received in “adjusted compensation” were returned to either Hartley or Richardson. He said some of the checks were endorsed and returned, without being cashed, to Richardson.
• City Commissioner Claude Smith Jr. announced that the new municipal auditorium on the Northbank between the Main Street and Acosta bridges would be dedicated Sept 16.
At Smith’s request, the commission authorized the transfer of $55,000 from a special budget account to complete the landscaping and outside lighting of the building.
The $55,000 would bring the total expenditures in the auditorium account to $4,952,014, Smith said.
Smith said the money would provide “the rest of the things which we and the architects feel are needed to open the auditorium as an operational facility.”
• A former employee of the local Elks Club was sentenced to three years in the County jail for the theft March 9 of $12,000 from the owner of a grocery chain.
William Leslie Harold, 47, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced by Criminal Court Judge William T. Harvey.
Harold originally was charged with robbery of Steedly T. Compton, operator of five stores in the C&C Grocery chain.
Due to the circumstances of the case, prosecutors allowed Harold to plead guilty to the less serious grand larceny charge.
Harold had no criminal record. A character witness testified he was for 14 years a trusted employee of the Elks Club and often handled as much as $30,000 a month in bank deposits for the club.
Testimony brought out by Assistant County Solicitor Donald Nichols showed that the daylight theft on a public street was not well-planned and virtually doomed from the start.
Nichols said Compton left the Barnett National Bank Downtown at 10:30 a.m. March 9 with $12,000 in a paper sack to cash checks at his grocery stores.
Nichols said Compton was getting in his car at 213 N. Laura St. when Harold ran by, bumped Compton against the car, grabbed the bag and fled on foot.
Compton and a witness, Walter Foyer, ran after Harold, described by police as weighing more than 200 pounds. With Foyer at his heels, Harold was knocked down at Main and Monroe streets by an unidentified passer-by, allowing Foyer to tackle him.
Nichols said Foyer held Harold until police arrived. All the money was recovered.
Reviewing the facts, Harvey said there was a “narrow line of demarcation” in the case between robbery and larceny. The maximum penalty for robbery was life imprisonment; for grand larceny, five years in prison.
Harvey said he regretted having to sentence the defendant in view of his past record and the many calls Harvey said he received from Elks and other prominent citizens who put in a good word for Harold. Harvey noted that the larceny was an act of desperation since Harold was indebted deeply to small loan companies, but said he had to set an example to deter others from the same mistake.
Harold was represented by attorney Walter Shea.
• James Matthew Land was sentenced to die in Florida’s electric chair for the murder of an 80-year-old widow during a robbery attempt in her home.
Land, 39, an unemployed ex-convict, was sentenced by Circuit Judge William H. Maness after Maness denied a motion for a new trial.
A jury on May 4 found Land guilty of first-degree murder. By not recommending mercy, the jury set Land’s punishment at death in the electric chair.
In a last-minute attempt to avoid the death sentence, Land told Maness he had been coerced at the point of a pistol to give a confession which was read to the jury at the trial.
Maness rejected the claim and stated flatly that he did not believe it.
The confession Land gave was drawn from him during a question-and-answer session conducted by Assistant State Attorney Nathan Schevitz. Several law enforcement officers also were present, as was Cecil Noel Jr., an official court reporter who made a record of what was said by Land and Schevitz.
Noel, who read the confession at the trial, testified that Land was not pressured in any manner to make the confession. Land also did not say anything about being coerced when he took the stand during the trial.
• Mayport Naval Station’s runways looked like an international airport when the Jacksonville chapter of the Florida Aero Club sponsored its second annual fly-in at the base.
More than 500 airplanes of all types and sizes landed during the daylong event, said club President Julian Johnson.
“Some of our members were so enthusiastic about the program and the reception we got from the Navy that they have already started planning on returning,” Johnson said.
The civilian pilots came from 25 states and from as far away as Maine.