TRAILING A BROOKLYN SNEAK THIEF (1885)
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The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations.
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(From The Brooklyn Daily Union of Thursday, 25 June 1885.)
“Two Jimmies and a Lot of Skeleton Keys and Lock Picks in His Possession – After Surveying the Residence of the Superintendent of Police He Goes Elsewhere and is Caught at Work. ”
A few days ago a sneak thief, who got into a house in Hart street, was seen by a woman living on the opposite side of the street when he was leaving. She furnished Captain McLaughlin with a description of the man, which was subsequently given to Detectives Kelly and Druhan, of the Gates avenue station.
Yesterday afternoon Kelly and Druhan left the station together and on looking up the street, not 200 feet away, saw a man who answered the description in every particular.
The man was near Marcy avenue, and the detectives got out of the way until he passed them, and then followed in his footsteps. He went up Madison street, then to Tompkins avenue, Putnam avenue and finally to Bedford. The detectives by jumping on cars and running in and out of stores had become separated, but Kelly kept the man in sight, and did not let him get far away from him.
The man went up Bedford avenue, out of the Ninth and into the Twelfth Precinct and then to Herkimer street. He paused in front of a house near Nostrand avenue, surveyed it and walked towards the front gate. Superintendent of Police Campbell occupies the dwelling, and Kelly wondered if the fellow would go in there, more than half wishing that he would. The fellow changed his mind, walked to Fulton street, then to Verona place, and finally into Macon street.
When he got to the dwelling at 239, he paused a moment, and then, seemingly satisfied that there was no one in the house, pushed open the front gate and went in. Kelly waited a few minutes and heard the jingle of metal. Then he passed in unobserved and unheard, coming upon the man while he was trying to force open the basement door with a jimmy.
“What are you doing here?” Kelly asked.
“I’m looking for a Mrs. Van Sise, of New Jersey,” was the reply.
Kelly put the muzzle of his revolver against the man’s head, and said: “I don’t think you are looking for anyone; but I’m looking for you. Come along, and bring your tools with you.”
The man picked up the jimmy that he had let fall, and with that and another in his hand, started for the station. When searched there he had a dozen lock picks and several skeleton keys besides the jimmies. He also had a pair of sleeve buttons with the letters “S” and “A” on them and a collar button with a small diamond set in it.
He said he was Charles Rogers, 62 years old, a locksmith, and that he lived in East Thirteenth street, New York. A policeman who went to the address he gave was told that no one like him lived there.
The house in Macon street where Rogers was caught is occupied by Mr. Sutton, whose family are out of town. Rogers is believed to be an old-timer at the business, although the local police do not know him, he refused absolutely to give any information concerning himself.
When Captain McLaughlin tried to get him to talk he said: “You’ve got me now. That ought to be enough for you. I’ve got nothing to say. If I talked to you it wouldn’t do me any good.”
Rogers is believed to be the man who has robbed several temporarily vacant houses in the upper wards within the past month. Detective Kelly followed him an hour before arresting him, his object in not taking him into custody on sight being to catch him at work and make sure for conviction on trial.
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