Charles Sykes, a well known Sierra
county ranchman, was seriously wounded in a shooting affray
yesterday near Hillsboro, according to a report that was received
in Deming. No details of the affair were known. Sykes is said to
be a relative of John Sykes, who was killed by Luther Wright in
April of this year. Dr. F. D. Vickers was summoned to attend the
wounded man.
Deming Headlight, August 19, 1921
SECOND BATTLE IN RANGE FEUD
One Killed, One Wounded in Gun Battle at Well on Sierra Co.
Ranch
In a gun battle that occurred Thursday of last week at the north
well on the S. L. C. ranch near Lake Valley, Hood Sykes was killed and Charles
Sykes was wounded in four places. This was the second death in the feud that has
developed between the Nunn & Latham interests and the Sykes clan, over the
alleged claims of both parties to the watering hole. John Sykes, another member
of the family, was killed at the same place in April of this year by Luther
Wright.
At the coroner's inquest held at Lake Valley by Coroner William
Kiel, it was stated by witnesses that Hood Sykes, Charles Sykes, Lane Sykes and
R. Sykes rode up to the watering place where a gang of the Nunn & Latham men
were repairing a windmill and attempted to prevent the erection of the windmill.
In the battle that ensued, and in which Luther Wright, Pryor Nunn, J. Barnett,
Emmett Nunn, a colored man and a Mexican composed the opposing party. Hood Sykes
was killed and Charles Sykes wounded. Lane Sykes fell from his horse and lay
prostrate for several hours, fearing death if he betrayed the fact that he was
alive. The other member of the Sykes party fled.
The verdict of the coroner's jury was that the deceased came to
his death at the hands of parties who were acting in self-defense. Those who
were mixed up in the fight were given a preliminary hearing at Lake Valley on
Wednesday.
Carl Collins, who was working on the windmill, is said to have
taken no part in the fight.
Deming Headlight, August 26, 1921
THREE ON TRIAL FOR SIKES'
DEATH
Stockmen's Feud Case Draws
Crowds to Hillsboro to Hear Murder Trial
Trial of Pryor Nunn, Luther Wright
and Jay Barnett, charged with the murder of Hood Sikes last August
near Nutt Station, opened at Hillsboro Saturday and has been
causing the keenest interest not only in Sierra county but also in
Luna county, where the accused men are all well known. The
courtroom has been packed with spectators all week, and Sheriff
Neil Sullivan has sworn in a number of extra deputies to prevent
any outbreak between the sympathizers of the two factions. It is
alleged that, before the trial began, a petition bearing about
1000 names of Sierra county residents, was circulated asking for
the recall of Sheriff Sullivan, on the ground that he was
favorable to the Nunn interest. So far no action has been taken in
the matter by the governor, to whose attention the petition has
been brought informally. Two special venires were exhausted before
the jury was secured to try the case.
The feud between the two families
started several years ago when John Sikes is said to have jumped a
claim which had been proved and later forfeited by the Nunn &
Latham Cattle Co. The Nunns later are said to have located a
homestead close to the ranch occupied by Sikes and to have sunk a
well near the dividing line. Sikes sought an injunction in the
courts to prevent the Nunns from sinking the well and building a
house on the homestead, and the injunction was issued. The Nunns
pumped water from the well into a tank which they had constructed,
and Sikes charged them with contempt of court. A short time later
the Nunn home was burned and the windmill that had been erected
was torn down and the well damaged.
In the spring of 1921 John Sikes
was killed when he ordered Jay Barnett and Luther Wright, who were
guarding the property, to leave the well site. The two men were
charged with murder and were released on bond. Last August the men
who were working on the Nunn well engaged in a gun battle with
several of the Sikes family, who rode up on them while they were
at work, and Hood Sikes was killed in the exchange of shots.
As a result of the death of Hood
Sikes, indictments were returned against Pryor Nunn, Luther Wright
and Jay Barnett, the other men who took part in the fight or who
were present at the time being discharged.
Attorney R. F. Hamilton of Deming
and H. A. Wolford of Hillsboro are representing the accused, and
District Attorney F. C. Nichols of Hillsboro is assisted by Holt &
Sutherland of Las Cruces in conducting the case for the state.
Deming Headlight, February 17, 1922
SIERRA CO. JURY FREES RANCHERS
Brilliant Work of Defense
Brings Verdict of Not Guilty at Hillsboro
Pryor Nunn, Luther Wright and Jay
Barnett, who were tried last week at Hillsboro on a charge of
murder in connection with the death of Hood Sikes near Nutt last
August, were acquitted on Monday by the Sierra county petit jury
that heard the case. Attorney R. F. Hamilton of Deming was leader
in the defense.
The verdict rendered by the petit
jury has gone far, in the opinion of those from Deming who
followed the trial through its course, to clear the atmosphere
that was so evident at Hillsboro and that was believed to portend
further friction between the two factions. The handling of the
defense by Attorney R. F. Hamilton won the warmest commendation
not only from his own clients but from the prosecution and from
many others. At the end of the case Charles Sikes, the leader of
the Sikes faction, approached Mr. Hamilton and congratulated him
on the manner in which he had conducted the defense, assuring him
that he had none but feelings of admiration for the course
followed by the defense attorneys all the way through. Other
members of the Sikes family also assured Mr. Hamilton of their
friendship and of their freedom from any rancor.
It is stated by those who attended
the trial that the prosecution was basing its case on the theory
that Wright and Barnett had been taken up to Sierra county as
hired gunmen for the Nunn & Latham outfit, but when Pryor Nunn
assumed the responsibility for the killing of Hood Sikes the
prosecution was left up in the air, and at that point the defense
rested. Laney Sikes, the young man who laid out on the ground for
seven hours after the shooting, and who claimed that he had heard
those around him making threats against his life and the lives of
other members of his family, made one of the poorest witnesses for
the prosecution, and his story failed to impress the jury in the
slightest.
At the beginning of the case eight
men were under indictment on the murder charge, but Attorney
Hamilton succeeded in having five of them discharged on orders of
the court, leaving Nunn, Wright and Barnett to stand trial on the
charge. The effect of the verdict in this case is expected to have
an important bearing on the trial of Wright and Barnett in
connection with the death of John Sikes, who was killed in another
shooting affray at the well previous to the death of Hood Sikes
and the wounding of Charles Sikes.
Deming Headlight, February 24, 1922