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OFFICER DICK NASH SHOT,By aVicious and Treacheron* Mexican Uumbler.At 12 o’clock Thursday night, officer Richard Nash was shot down while in the performance of his duty, by one Louis Ortiz, a desperate and treacherous character, that has heretofore given the officers of Reno more trouble than all the criminal eleineut of the town. It appears that he returned to Reno on last night’s train from the west, which arrived after 10 o’clock, and during the evening appeared in the bar-room of the Grand Central Hotel. He was indulging in drink, but no indication of any serious trouble was shown until about 12 o’clock, midnight, when the proprietor of the hotel, Dan O'Keefe, told his yieitors that he must close up and requested them all to leave the barroom or go to bed. As the house was full to overflowing and Ortiz wanted a bed, to accommodate him, Toni McCormack, the bar tender, offered to share his bed with Ortiz, and took him up to his room and left him while be returned. Ortiz, however, came right down again and showed no disposition to retire, and Dan O’Keefe again requested everybody to get out, and proceeded to close the doors. Ortiz, Tom Welch and others went out on the front porch, whero Ortiz sat down on a bench, pulled out his revolver, and fired a shot, without any words with any one, bo far as is known. The ball struck Tom Welch in the buttock, and he stumbled and fell to the ground off the sidewalk.With this Tom McCormack ihii out nncl paid to Ortiz: Put that up! What do vou want to be shooting for?Oitiz made a reply and paid: “ 1 want to kill some s—of b—.’’ He fired another shot juntas McCormack made a grab for his pistol. The hall struck McCormack's coat on the right side, near the lower button, and wasfilling the Constable’s office one term, and made a most excellent record. He was nominated five or six years ago for Sheriff on the Republican ticket, and was beaten by Flint at the general election. There are no better officers than Dick Nash, and but few aBgood. Hois strictly temperate in all his habits and in every respect a model man. He is aB fearless as a lion and if ho wants a man he generally gets him, but last night the drunken brute he was trying to arrest came near getting him.ORTheBI,ouIS Ortiz.[ As he appeared ihis morning behindThe M GithePrison Bnrs.)A Gaxettr reporter visited Ortiz and Baptist in the county jail Friday morning and in an attempted interview managed to get this information out of Ortiz:I don’t know what 1 did. 1 was drunk yesterday all day and I don’t know nothing. I don't know who brought me here and don’t know why I was arrested.Baptist refused to say anything about the trouble or the shooting.N.NKIl’S CONDITION AT 3 o'CI.OCK. Drs. Dawson, Lewis, Bergstem and Patterson in a consultation Friday af-te noon agreed that the bullet almostFi ii plain that .pen.fromwas it 11:45 seen c ceded ped ecertainly did not penetrate the abdominal cavity, but was deflected downward and outward. It* course lt;an be followed only for about t lt;oinches »ml a half in the direction indicated. The result of tliii, consultation is to relieve the attending physicians from the grave apprehensions of immediate danger which would have followed a decision that it entered the abdomen. Inasmuch as its precise location is undetermined, it is not possible to foretell the troubles that may jet arise from the wound, but the probability id they will not seriously endanger life.NOT TO BLAME.A Word r»t Kxplanatlon JCfgarlt;ltiij£ Ortiz'* ‘•nibxvuurut Arr«**(.Some people seem to censure Justice of the Peace Linn for fining Ortiz and discharging him when hu was arrested a month or two ago for beatingdleyan who , in nont the » to 8 ton ctor-ness uitord tonot ar fir-ishot, and a fewLo MiCnnmicU :goo!tiedyeve,nach cis. p of andonooB Pill 8. i and ad by to try caee.so close that the coat, a new one of gray color, was badly powder burned The ball passed through the shirt of the coat and struck Officer Nash, who was burning to the mvpc. I’bu Mil let entered his body iu-t nl-ow upright groin, and Na-h did r realize that he uu* minutes later lm s ml I believe I’m slur.” Bait hi* continued his efforts and aided in o.iptur ingOrtiz.Ortiz continued to -tnwuo with McCormack, a.at filed another shot up overhead. At this, .NicCormuck. who is a poweifnl 111.111 U«'«miing satisfied that he must be sc.e-e, knocked Ortiz down with a will aimed blow of his fist, and took the revolver away from him. Oriiz scrambled to his feet and staried across the Plaza on a run. McCormack followed and caught him half way acros- the Plaza and again knocked him down with his fist. O’Keefe came up also and Ortiz was pretty roughly handled by him and would have received more had not officer Nash, who was following as last as circumstances would permit, reached the spot and pat him under arrest. A man named Steele came along with a road cart at that moment and Ortiz was quickly pluced in it und taken to jail.Officer Nash was taken home, but no effort was made last night to locate the ball. He was resting easy this morning, and until the doctors make an examination, the extent jurv can only be guessed at.Officer Nash was atone time Sheriff of Humboldt county, and came to Reno some time in the 70’s. He has been connected with the police force of the town ever since coming here,.. man over lhlt;* head in Douglas No blame should be attached to Judue Linn in the matter, f.-r those are the circumstances that loti to the hue antisubsequent discharge: Ortiz was firstarrested fcr an us-anlt with intent to kill and he was taken before Judge Linn h.r a hearing. The Judge bound him over to ap|»e.ir bemre the Grand Jury. After that Distiict Attorney Jalien looked into the case and Ortiz was discharged and immediately re-arrcstcd on a charge of assault and battery, the District Attorney fearing that he would be unable to make the fir.-t charge stick. Ho was again brought before Judge Linn and tried for assault and battery, convicted and fined $75, with the understanding that he should leave town. Judge Linn had m thing whatever to do with the matter, but simply treated him as ho would unv oilier person who had violated the law.I!ancof the in-Irrigation Delegates.The delegates appointed to the Irrigation Congress did not all attend, as nppears from the following from the Salt Lake Tribune of the I6th lust.:A reporter for the Tribune last night made a general round-up of the delegates and ascertained that those present are as follows: Nevada is headed by Senator VV. M. Stewart. The other delegates are C. W. Irish, M. 1). Foley, J. R. Bradley, F. G. Newlands. C. H. Sproule, Angus Mcl.eod, R. L. Fulton and George W. Crum. . .C. W. Irish of Nevada is a prother of John P. Irish of California.Senator Stewart of Nevada may be regarded as the Father of the Congress. He ia the most venerable looking man in the party.coodisitietdiaXciHe Wan Aaleep.Alf Chartz of the Enterprise staff wa9 a guest at the Riverside hotel last night, sleeping the sleep of the just in a chamber with a window overlooking the iron bridge, but so quietly was Ortiz hung to the crown beam that Alf knew nothing of it until became down to breakfast this morning.cocenlt;iotFfatioSUithebaDeincBeadw tby
Newspaper Details
Reno Weekly Gazette and Stockman
Reno, Nevada, US
Thu, Sep 24, 1891
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
NV, USA 09 May 2017
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