According to the circuit court transcript that appears in the Supreme Court’s case file when Kables unsuccessfully appealed his conviction, Wirtz described a satisfying end to what had been a lengthy effort to catch Kables in a liquor-related crime. “I said, ‘Well, Mr. Kables, I have been after you a long time, and I finally have the goods on you. You are under arrest.’” The prosecution characterized Kables as someone who was known for dealing with liquor but had never been convicted.

The German immigrant, whose occupation was listed as a farmer and logger, painted a much darker picture of his arrest: “Then this man said to me, after I had said that I had some corn in the car, ‘That is what I thought you had in there.’ Then he said to me … ‘We are going back to Seaside, and don’t run away from me, or I’ll shoot … you.’”

The raid into the hills above Kables’ farm south of Seaside revealed a still operation as well as a man named Hibner, who testified against Kables at trial. Ultimately he was sentenced to a year in the penitentiary and began serving his sentence in December of 1927. In his statement to the Parole Board, the judge noted “He was evidently an old offender though this was the first time he was caught,” adding “He was an offender since this conviction and while considering an appeal.” Kables consistently denied his guilt throughout, contending that Hibner provided false testimony against him.

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