Sheriff Carter Gets Big Haul Last Friday
March 10, 1924
Last Friday night Sheriff George Carter accompanied by his deputies made one of the biggest hauls of liquor that has been made in some time in Lassen county.
Earlier in the day Ted Lewis had left Reno with two Fords containing 7 ten gallon kegs of bootleg whiskey claimed to be very high grade stuff. One of the cars broke down and the entire cargo was loaded into the one car. This delay caused Lewis to arrive in Susanville early in the day and it was too light for him to risk hauling it up town at that time. He accordingly stopped near the free auto camp at Milwood and unloaded the 70 gallons into a root cellar.
That evening when he returned to get his liquor the officers were lying in wait for him. Two men were with him at the time. One man started digging, it being the evident intention to cache the barrels in different places around the cellar. Lewis went inside the cellar and the officers at that time made their appearance.
Jack Holmes and Lewis was arrested and one man got away. Holmes and Lewis were brought before Justice of the Peace Green of Westwood and Holmes was released due to the fact that it was evident that he had only been engaged to dig holes for the burial of the liquor.
Lewis plead guilty to the charge of possession and was fined $250 which he paid.
The liquor cost Lewis according to the officers $700 in Reno and this with his $250 fine and attorneys fees, means a loss to him of $1,000. Had he been able to land his liquor safely and made his sales of it it would have brought him at the current price of 50 cents per drink, $5040. Lewis was represented in court by Attorney Barry.
