The defendants were four Negro boys, Charles Johnson, eighteen; Frank Coachman, sixteen; John Green, fourteen; and Walter Colvin, sixteen. Lazzeroni, a sixty-year-old Italian peddler, driving a banana wagon on State Street, was pursued by boys throwing stones who overtook him, jumped on his wagon, and stabbed him with pocketknives. All except Johnson were alleged to have confessed, and the confessions were given before the grand jury by Policeman Deliege as he remembered them. They were not read. The boys who confessed implicated the one who did not, Johnson. Mrs. Dolly Herrmann identified all of the boys as being implicated.
The four boys were indicted and tried and on September 19, 1919, a verdict of guilty was rendered against Colvin and Johnson. They were sentenced to the penitentiary for life on December 17, 1919; the cases of Green and Coachman were stricken off with leave to reinstate.
| 2. Joseph Powers | |
| Race | White |
| Date of receiving death wound | July 29 |
| Time of receiving death wound | 6:00 a.m. |
| Place of receiving death wound | Root and Emerald streets |
| Manner of wound | Stab wound |
A Negro, William Henderson, was walking west on Root Street on the morning of July 29 going to work at the Stock Yards. He was overtaken by another Negro whom he did not know, but who accompanied him down the street. As they crossed Emerald Avenue they were met by two white men walking east. One of these was Joseph Powers. He walked slightly behind the other white man, whose identity was never discovered. It was not known whether Powers was with this man or not. As the unknown white man passed the two Negroes he struck out at them. The unknown Negro walking with Henderson struck back, evidently with a knife in his hand, and hit Powers, who was then abreast of the group, mortally wounding him. All the participants ran except Powers. Henderson was the only one overtaken. He was chased through alleys and brought down with stones and bricks and severely beaten. From the description of the second Negro given by Henderson, and the fact that another had been found wounded near this spot, it was supposed at first that the second man was one Henry Renfroe. The coroner's jury said: "We believe that William Henderson was guilty of no wrong doing, and that if the unknown colored man should prove to be Henry Renfroe, that he was acting in self-defense. We recommend their immediate discharge from police custody. We further recommend that the white men guilty of assault on William Henderson and his companion be apprehended and punished."
Later Judge Tate, Negro, was identified as the companion of Henderson. Both Negroes were indicted by the grand jury. On December 13, 1919, a verdict of not guilty was returned against Tate and the case of Henderson was nolle prossed.
| 3. Walter Parejko | |
| Race | White |
| Date of receiving death wound | July 29 |
| Time of receiving death wound | 7:30 a.m. |
| Place of receiving death wound | Fifty-first Street near Dearborn Street |
| Manner of wound | Bullet wound |
| 4. Morris I. Perel | |
| Race | White |
| Date of receiving death wound | July 29 |
| Time of receiving death wound | 8:15 a.m. |
| Place of receiving death wound | Fifty-first and Dearborn streets |
| Manner of wound | Stab wound |
The same three defendants appear in both these cases, three young Negro boys, Ben Walker, William Stinson, and Charles Davis.
There were no eyewitnesses in either case except the defendants involved, and they did not appear in person before the coroner's jury, but statements by them were either read or repeated by officials in charge. Davis and Stinson declared that Walker shot Parejko. When the statements were read to Walker, who had so far refused to make a confession, he said Stinson stabbed Perel.
Parejko and his friend Josef Maminaki, laborers on the Grand Trunk Railway, were going to work. According to Stinson the boys were sitting on a bread box in front of a store when they saw the two white men. Walker said, "Let's get this guy." Stinson answered, "Not me." Walker said, "Stand aside now, boys; I will do my stuff." He fired and Parejko was mortally wounded and Maminaki slightly wounded. Walker denied the shooting. However, he told where the weapon could be found, and it was brought before the coroner as evidence.