# Evening Star, 16 August 1930, page B-12: Kirchenbaum is freed on charge of assault

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/clippings/clip-evening-star-1930-08-16-p24/

An Associated Press item: Harry Kirchenbaum was acquitted in Detroit Recorder's Court of assault with intent to kill after the alleged victim, Joe Bernstein, 'reputed leader of the once powerful Purple gang', testified for the State as an unwilling witness.

The page printed as B-12 of the Washington Evening Star for Saturday, 16 August 1930 (image 24 in the Library of Congress viewer), a radio and amusements page. In the first column is "Kirchenbaum Is Freed on Charge of Assault," with the deck "Jury's Verdict Rendered After Alleged Victim Says He Remembers Nothing of Incident," credited to the Associated Press and datelined Detroit.

It reports that Harry Kirchenbaum was acquitted in Recorder's Court of assault with intent to kill, after the man he was alleged to have wounded, "Joe Bernstein, reputed leader of the once powerful Purple gang, was introduced as an unwilling witness by the State" and said he remembered nothing after going to Kirchenbaum's home on May 6 until he woke in the receiving hospital.

Bernstein is the alleged victim in this item, and the "reputed leader" description is the wire service's. The item also mentions another man arrested with Kirchenbaum in Los Angeles in connection with a Chicago killing; that name is not repeated here.

## Sources

- Library of Congress, Chronicling America: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1930-08-16/ed-1/?sp=24
- Library of Congress OCR text of this page: https://tile.loc.gov/text-services/word-coordinates-service?segment=/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_oliver_ver01/data/sn83045462/00280600623/1930081601/0053.xml&format=alto_xml&full_text=1