On August 29, 1936, ex-convicts John and Coke Brite shot and killed Siskiyou County Deputy Martin Lange, constable Joe Clark and visitor Fred Seaborn in a drunken haze near the isolated cabin where they lived with their parents. The brothers had earlier beaten up the elderly Seaborn and his friend, Horse Creek resident Charley Baker, after the latter, who hoped to chase them off from the rented cabin, having used it for free storage before. Seaborn, a retired naval officer and the harbor master of the port of Vallejo, California was in Horse Creek to hunt deer with Baker. After the incident, the Brite brothers hid out in the Siskiyou Mountains for three weeks in fear of Siskiyou County's reputation for lynching murderers. They secretly gave themselves up to Siskiyou County District Attorney James G. Davis, who along with Dr. Earl Harris drove them to Folsom Prison for their safety. Davis, a native American, refused to prosecute, due to conflicting testimony of witness, believing they had been set up and were justified in self-defense for being set upon in the dead of night as they lie sleeping outdoors and clubbed by deputies, and was soon to be voted out of office. The Brite Brothers were convicted and sentenced to death, however appeals reduced the sentence to life in prison. They were both paroled in 1951, after efforts of author Earle Stanley Gardner's 'Court of Last Resort', but were soon back in prison, where they died.[2]
Referencesedit
^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Horse Creek, California
^Kulczyk,David. (2008). California Justice: Shootouts, Lynching and Assassinations in the Golden State. Word Dancer Press. P101 ISBN1-884995-54-3
horse, creek, california, horse, creek, unincorporated, community, siskiyou, county, california, united, states, horse, creek, located, along, california, state, route, miles, west, northwest, yreka, unincorporated, communityshow, californiashow, united, state. Horse Creek is an unincorporated community in Siskiyou County California United States Horse Creek is located along California State Route 96 19 miles 31 km west northwest of Yreka Horse Creek CaliforniaUnincorporated communityHorse Creek CaliforniaShow map of CaliforniaHorse Creek CaliforniaShow map of the United StatesCoordinates 41 49 26 N 122 59 49 W 41 82389 N 122 99694 W 41 82389 122 99694CountryUnited StatesStateCaliforniaCountySiskiyouElevation1 627 ft 496 m Time zoneUTC 8 Pacific PST Summer DST UTC 7 PDT Area code530GNIS feature ID1658780 1 The Brite Brothers editOn August 29 1936 ex convicts John and Coke Brite shot and killed Siskiyou County Deputy Martin Lange constable Joe Clark and visitor Fred Seaborn in a drunken haze near the isolated cabin where they lived with their parents The brothers had earlier beaten up the elderly Seaborn and his friend Horse Creek resident Charley Baker after the latter who hoped to chase them off from the rented cabin having used it for free storage before Seaborn a retired naval officer and the harbor master of the port of Vallejo California was in Horse Creek to hunt deer with Baker After the incident the Brite brothers hid out in the Siskiyou Mountains for three weeks in fear of Siskiyou County s reputation for lynching murderers They secretly gave themselves up to Siskiyou County District Attorney James G Davis who along with Dr Earl Harris drove them to Folsom Prison for their safety Davis a native American refused to prosecute due to conflicting testimony of witness believing they had been set up and were justified in self defense for being set upon in the dead of night as they lie sleeping outdoors and clubbed by deputies and was soon to be voted out of office The Brite Brothers were convicted and sentenced to death however appeals reduced the sentence to life in prison They were both paroled in 1951 after efforts of author Earle Stanley Gardner s Court of Last Resort but were soon back in prison where they died 2 References edit U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Horse Creek California Kulczyk David 2008 California Justice Shootouts Lynching and Assassinations in the Golden State Word Dancer Press P101 ISBN 1 884995 54 3 nbsp This Siskiyou County California related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Horse Creek California amp oldid 1167155965, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
