Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-12-16
NABBEB
A Large Amount of stolen Property
|

n Large Amount OF stolen property
Recovered.
For several weeks past, strong efforts
have been made to ferret out, and capture
the thieves who have been so extensively
engaged in stealing from private residences
in this city for some time.
| Last Friday, why, keen-looking darkey,
about twenty-five years of age, and known
| Is Andy Brown, was arrested by Detective
Pickett, on the charge Of larceny, and
| locked up in Jail. There were strong in
| dications that Brown belonged TO gang of
thieves, and by means of sharp trick prac-
ticed upon himyesterday, this fact was fully
| established, and the whereabouts of large
| quantity of stolen goods, was disclosed. An
express wagon was chartered and driven to
house on Pearl street, between Spruce
and McLemore, occupied and owned
by johnson Ridley, colored man,
who uses wooden leg in consequence
of his foot having been cut off some years
ago. Here werefound several blankets, and
other bed clothing, four lace curtains (he
property of Col. McClannahan,) blankets
stolen from DR.. Atchison, some carpeting
belonging to Mrs. James X. Polk, knives,
forks and spoons stolen from the Maxwell,
clothing, and other articles.
Ridley was arrested, taken before Justice
Everett, and bound over to await examine
at two o'clock tomorrow. He says he
bought the articles from Andy Brown, and
that he had no idea they were stolen. He
claims that he got them before the cholera
came to Nashville. Ridley has lived in
this city for number of years, and saws
wood for a living. He has wife and six
children, and it is said one of his boys
works in the Maxwell House barber shop.
Andy Brown says that Ridley didn't know
the articles were stolen.
In conversation with our reporter, Brown
confessed that there were three others con-
nected with him in his thieving operations,
and gave their names, one of them being
small boy, but as these have not been ar
rested yet, their names are suppressed for
obvious reasons.
A TRUNK FULL OF MONEY.
Brown claims that the stealing has been
done under the leadership of one of the
trio still at liberty, and that he himself was
led into it against his will, that he refused
to take part in some of the plots which had
been arranged and which fell through on
that account, and that he declined to take
part in several others but which were car
l1Cu OltJ HUN lllISltlllNAill-s
He says the others wanted him to assist
them in robbing, last week, an old colored
woman who works for Mrs. Plummer, on
Summer street, near the New Theatre.
The leader Of the gang told Brown that this
old woman had been working for Mrs.
PlUmner for great many years, at ten
dollars per month. That she had saved up
all her money and kept it in a trunk, with
L Il. - I'll, 4 81, Il,
had trunk full, or nearly full
which money could be got just as easy as
not Brown was told that this old woman
kept the trunk in a back room in the up
per story Of Mrs. Plummer'S house, and
that there was a pane of glass missing in
one of the windows, the aperture being
covered by a piece of cloth. Brown was
told to visit the premises in the day time,
and see just how an entrance could be eff
fected through this window; but he says
he refused to go into the arrangement pro-
posed, and therefore didn't make the re-
connoiSance spoken of.
He admitted that he assisted in Tobbing
the store of
EWIN x PENDLET0N,
and said that an entrance was effected by
means of a ladder placed under one of the
rear windows, from which pane was cut
out with diamond. Our reporter visited
this store in company with the detectives,
and found that all but one of the windows
in the rear of the building had heavy iron
bars running up and down, strongly braced.
The window referred to also had bars Gov
ering the upper sash. The bars had form
erly extended all the way down to the low
er sill, where they were securely fastended,
but they had been removed from the lower
part of the window in order to allow mode
of egress i'll case the building should catch
fire and shut off escape to the inmates by
means of the front door. OF course a new
pane had been put in the window in place
Of the one removed, but an attache of the
house stated that the missing pane had ev-
identity been cut out.
Brown says that they didn't get any
thing from Ewin q Pendleton's but cigars,
which were evenly divided between the
four. He sold his share, and gave our re-
porter the name of the purchaser, but this
is withheld for the present. He says he
didn't assist in robbiHg
HOLLISTER'S CIGAR STORE,
but that he knows just how the work was
done, and the robbery was committed by
his three partners. He says that couple |
of velvet robes, stolen from Mr. McClanna- |
han, fell to him and that he sold them for |
a dollar apiece.
In all probability the capture of Brown
viii result in the breaking up of a gang Of |
thieves whose depredatiOns were becoming |
really alarming. He was sent to jail in de- |
fault of bond, and will be tried before JUS |
tice Everett at the same time Ridley is. |
He manifested a disposition Yesterday TO |
tell all he knew about the matter, and was |
very bitter in den0uncing one Of his asSo-
ciates, especially.
The case has been worked up by Puck
etts detectives, who have been on track of |
the thieves for several weeks.