On March 6, 1926, Leona Merchant (31) pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter after gunning down her husband J.O. Merchant in front of a gaggle of sunbathers at the San Pedro Municipal Bathing Beach in San Antonio. J.O. Merchant suffered 12 perforations in his intestines from a single bullet, leading to his eventual demise. As a result of her guilty plea, Leona received a two year suspended sentence and walked away a free woman.
The dramatic shooting of J.O. Merchant in San Pedro unfolded as a public spectacle before hundreds of witnesses, highlighting a tragic domestic dispute that turned violent. According to the newspaper account, Mrs. Merchant pursued her husband through the streets in what became a heated car chase, with Mr. Merchant riding in another vehicle. The chase culminated on Main Street, where Mrs. Merchant found her husband in the car in the company of one Mrs. Margaret R. Randolph, who leaped from the car as Leona appeared. Leona confronted her husband and shot him twice in the body, one in the leg and one in the gut. Despite suffering what hospital authorities believed would be fatal wounds, J.O. Merchant, who resided at 428 Gardena Street, showed remarkable forgiveness toward his wife. From his hospital bed, he declared “It was all my fault” and insisted he would not prosecute her. The incident drew significant attention from law enforcement, including Captain T.C. Miller and Detective Dudley, who investigated the scene. Mrs. Merchant was initially taken into custody but was later released on $1,000 bail following a preliminary hearing before Judge Dick. She rushed back to the hospital to be at her dying husband’s side.
In court nearly three years later, police officers testified that as J.O. Merchant was dying, he asked them not to prosecute his wife, stating “I am the guilty party and she should not be prosecuted” and “I got only what was coming to me and she was in the right.” After Leona pleaded guilty, the judge imposed the two year suspended sentence which was not opposed by the district attorney’s office.
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