Looking back: Well-known doctor commits murder-suicide, hung jury and construction truck tips in person’s yard

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of May 29 to June 4 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

DUBOIS — It was believed a murder-suicide took place in Dubois on May 31, 1915, the Rigby Star said on June 3, 1915.

Dr. J.H. Jones and his wife were found in bed with bullet holes through their temples. Dr. Jones had a 32-caliber revolver in his right hand.

“Neighbors, when they heard no sound this morning, went to the house and finally broke in the door,” the article said.

The paper said Dr. Jones was “well-known” and practiced in Lewisville, Menan and Roberts.

“Those intimate with him think he was a drug user, which may in part account for the act which was committed last night,” the reporter wrote.

1926-1950

POCATELLO — Eight families were in need of living quarters after a fire broke out at an apartment building, the Idaho State Journal said on May 29, 1950.

One of the families had 10 children, according to the Bannock County Red Cross. The families were staying with friends and neighbors in “crowded homes.” The apartment owner said he didn’t plan to rebuild the building immediately.

“The Red Cross cannot reconstruct the structure under its disaster relief program because it was an apartment, which is considered as a business,” the paper said.

The national and county Red Cross “proceeded with a program to get them back on their feet.”

The Red Cross provided clothing, shoes and planned to try and replace most of the furniture the families lost.

“Confidential interviews are being taken this week to determine the exact loss,” the Journal said.

1951-1975

ROBERTS — A local jury failed to reach a verdict in a case of a man accused of hitting a law enforcement officer, an article dated May 30, 1968, in The Rigby Star said.

The jury in Jefferson County District Court was involved in the case of the State of Idaho verses Bill Barrett, Roberts, on a “indictable misdemeanor charge.” Shortly before midnight Friday, they announced they could not come to a verdict.

Reports indicated the vote was 11 to 1 for the conviction but the “lone opposing juror refused to change.”

The case was from the “outgrowth of a community demonstration … against the closure of the Roberts High School in which Barrett was alleged to have struck a patrolman.”

Four others were charged with misdemeanors of unlawful assembly.

“Grant Young, prosecuting attorney, said in his statement he would take no further action against the four charged with misdemeanors,” the local paper said.

Young said as a result of the hung jury, he would follow the recommendations of Judge Willard C. Burton “that no further action be taken in this case in the interest of harmony of Jefferson County.

The case required five days in the district court. The jury deliberated for seven hours before “returning their report” to the judge.

1976-2000

POCATELLO — A “runaway construction truck” hit a utility pole before tipping over in a resident’s yard, the Idaho State Journal said on May 31, 1977.

A Pocatello police officer said he pursued a constriction truck around 2 a.m. the morning of May 31. The driver leaped from the vehicle, and the construction truck rolled downhill, the police said.

The officer caught Wayne Gugleman, 18, after a “foot chase.”

“A 1967 5-ton Kaiser truck, later reported stolen by Mitchell Construction Co., was totaled,” the paper said. “Damages also were done to a power pole and to a resident’s landscaping, including trees, shrubs and lawn.”

Gugleman was being held in jail on a $300 bond pending arraignment. He was to be formally charged with grand larceny, according to the article.