Arwood's trial took place in January 1942 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, in Memphis. Witnesses called to the stand at the trial included other federal agents who were with Pugh before and during the murder, as well as Pugh's widowed wife. One of the federal agents who was with Pugh, James Howes, was the principal witness; he described evidence linking Arwood to the illegal still, including a watch they found which Arwood's mother confirmed as his. Howes also testified to having observed Arwood chopping trees in the nearby woods on an earlier occasion, suggesting Arwood lived near the area. Another federal employee, Howard Taylor, displayed Pugh's daily reports wherein Pugh surmised that Arwood owned the still.
