THE FLAGLER TRIBUNE
Bunnell, Florida
Thursday, December 11, 1958

 

As a result of a shooting affray at the old airport between Bunnell and Flagler Beach last Friday night, two men are dead, two are patients in the hospital here with wounds, and two men are in jail.

The dead men, as reported by the sheriff's office, are George Kermit Jones, 31; James Howard Glisson, 28. Alexander Faircloth, 24, was seriously wounded from a gunshot in the abdomen, and Robert Durwood Drake was shot in the leg. Both men are recovering; it was stated with Drake having the lesser wound.

Two men, Sidney McCraney and Jack Johnson were arrested by the sheriff's force and placed in jail with a charge of suspicion of murder against them. .

The Shooting took place about 11:15 at the airfield when a group of men - number not now known - met near the trailer home of Jones on the airfield where the shooting occurred.

The shooting, it is reported, was the result of bad feelings between striking and non-striking truck drivers for Tropical Transport Co., which had been hauling cement from the plant of Lehigh Portland Cement Co., near Flagler Beach.

The circuit court convened here Monday morning for its scheduled fall term. After a grand jury was empanelled, court was recessed until next Friday morning when, it is assumed, the grand jury will inquire into the shooting.

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THE FLAGLER TRIBUNE
Bunnell, Florida
Thursday, January 8, 1959

Four men were indicted for the second degree murder of George Kermit Jones on December 5 at the Bunnell Airport when the Grand Jury make their presentment to the Circuit Court which was in session at the Flagler County Court house on Wednesday morning. Judge William Jackson of St. Augustine was on the Bench.

Those indicted were Sidney McCraney, 31, Flagler Beach; Jack Johnson, 35, Bunnell; Robert Drake, 26, Flagler Beach; and Alex Faircloth, 24, Ormond Beach.

Judge Jackson set the bond for each man at $5,000 and set January 14 as the day for their arraignment.

In the Grand Jury's present­ment no mention was made of the fatal shooting of James Glisson of Bunnell who was killed in the same gun battle.

Two men, McCraney, and Johnson have been held in Jail since the shooting on the night of December 5. Drake, who received a gunshot wound in the leg, was moved to the jail from the hospital about a week ago. Faircloth is still in the hospital receiving treatment for gunshot wounds in the abdomen.

Three of the indicted men - McCraney, Johnson, and Drake - each posted bonds of $5,000 and were released from jail Wednesday afternoon. Faircloth is still in the hospital.

In another case, Leon Powe entered a plea of guilty to the charge of convicted felon and having possession of firearms. The judge ordered that he be held in the custody of the sheriff until January 14 when he will be sentenced. A charge of armed robbery against Powe was nolle prossed.

Two moonshine cases were continued until the court convenes on the 14th.

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THE FLAGLER TRIBUNE
Bunnell, Florida
Thursday, February 19, 1959

A six-man jury of the Circuit Court returned a verdict of "not guilty" early Tuesday night for the four truck drivers who were charged with and on trial for second degree murder of George Kermit Jones on the night of December 5, 1958.

The Jury was out about 1 1/2 hours for their deliberation, and dinner, before returning the verdict to the court.

The four defendants were Alex Faircloth, 24, of Ormond Beach; Sidney McCraney, 31, and Robert Drake, 26, of Flagler Beach; and Jack Johnson, 35, of Bunnell.

They were accused of slaying George Kermit Jones in a gun battle on the night of December 5 at Jones' trailer home which was parked on the abandoned Bunnell Airport, located four miles east of here. He was killed by a shotgun blast.

Howard Glisson, 27, who also went with the four to the Jones home, was killed in the shooting affray. Faircloth was wounded in the abdomen and Drake was shot in the leg.

The testimony showed the five men had met at Lucy's place in Flagler Beach after dark. Two of them had their checks cashed and four of the five were drinking beer. Drake was drinking coffee, he said. They got into a discussion about a strike against Tropical Transport Co., where they were employed as truck drivers, and Jones' activities on the picket line.

Later in the evening they were joined by James Bratcher, of Daytona Beach, who said he came up to go hunting with some of the men. Later they asked him to ride over to Bunnell and back with them. Returning from Bunnell, they drove into the airport and said they were going to "talk to Jones."

Bratcher told them he would not go with them up there and they drove back to near the entrance of the airport where they left the car with Bratcher in it, saying they would walk up to Jones' trailer. About two or three minutes later McCraney returned to the car and. told Bratcher it would be alright for him to take the car and ride into Bunnell if he wanted to.

Under questioning, McCraney admitted he took a shotgun when he got out of the car the first time to go to the trailer. He also testified that all but one of the men had been drinking beer before they decided to go to the Jones trailer. He denied being drunk but admitted he was "pretty high."

Faircloth testified that he went up to the trailer and knocked. Mrs. Jones answered the door and he asked to see "George." When Jones went out Faircloth talked to Jones a few minutes and then pushed him into the dark where the other four men were waiting. After being almost surrounded by the armed men, Jones turned around and began firing, killing Glisson, and injuring Faircloth and Darke, before being killed by a shotgun blast.

Testimony showed that McCraney told Mrs. Jones and a deputy sheriff the night of December 5, that he had killed Jones. On the witness stand Tuesday he said he did not remember anything from the time Glisson fell dying halfway into his arms and he (McCraney) was struck on his head with a pistol, until he came to himself halfway across the airport.

In his summary to the jury, State Attorney W. W. Judge acknowledged labor trouble at the plant last fall had created an explosive situation. He also said the defendants had lured Jones "into the dark night where they were armed to the teeth" for an illegal purpose, but they had found they had a "tiger by the tail."

Jones, it was reported, was an expert marksman in target practice.