A young man needed money to make a trip, and he stole it from his sister-in-law, planning to pay it back. Even so, it was still a crime, and he was caught.
From the Arizona Daily Star, June 21, 1916:
Boy Stole Money From Brother’s Wife to Visit Father, Dying in Mexico
Plan to Work and Repay Is Spoiled by Illness; Court Deals Mercifully
When the father of Juan O. Garcia, a young man about 26 years of age, lay dying in Mexico, the son had no means of reaching his bedside before the end came, so he stole $25 from his sister-in-law, Mrs. Concepcion Martinez, with the mental promise to himself that when he had bidden his father farewell he would return to the states, work hard and pay back the money he had stolen from his brother’s wife.
Juan went to Mexico, saw his father and returned to Tucson, but he had no sooner started to work to make money so that he could repay the secret debt than he fell ill, and in the meantime the sister-in-law discovered the theft, accusing Juan of it. Juan did not deny it, not even to the judge yesterday, but his sister-in-law had little faith in his fair promises, so she had him arrested on the charge of larceny.
Garcia was arraigned before Justice Comstock and he told the judge his story of his yearning to see his old father once more before he died, of his yielding to temptation to steal the money in order to gratify his desire, with the mental reservation that it was not stealing but only borrowing, with a clear intention to return it as soon as he was able.
After hearing the story, the justice imposed on Garcia a sentence of three months in jail. Juan was about to descend into the depths of despair when the court qualified its decision with:
“But I will suspend the sentence during good behavior and on condition that you return to your sister-in-law the money that you took from her.”
Juan promised.
The Morgue Lady can't help but wonder where the young man's brother was in all this and why he didn't help out. They may have had different fathers, since the sister-in-law's last name was different. Perhaps the brother was no longer among the living.
