Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-04
RICHMOND, VA. THURSDAY
TIE PRISON BUhoLA8s cAU0HE
sharp and Patient wasehsmc a D~cr~Lasd
''s' BETRAYED BY Csrt,sss word-Rins-
hsders' Csnws.Isps.

| 'tu'SettgD>.
New York B.raid, sJ.I
The men who robbed the Kings County
| peDteDtiary lew days ago have. thanks 70
inspector Byrpes, broken into Jail eject
nalfy, for be has three OF them saIe under
| Dctk and Eey al police headquarters.
cn toe day before Thanksgiving u ne
came Known that an entrance 20 the Office
| of the penitentiary had been effected du-
rng the night by saving off several iron
| wlndo@-bars. Over 5000 in cash was
missIng. The Brooklyn detectives got 40
a number OF splendid theories, but made
no proeress in catcbine..thr thieves. They
were asionisbed Yesterday when they re-
eoived word from this city 70 draw of the
| water cf a POND near the looted Office, ana
TO search the bottom for the saws and jim
mics used by the burglars. THIS request
came from Inspector Byrnes. who needed
bur one link 70 complete a chain Of evidence
which be bad been forging from the tune
the crime was first reported.
THE PIRsr LINK.
This chain, strange a. IT may seem. really
| began before the robbery took place.
week before the peniisntlary was robbed
| the Inspector beard Of a strange expression
used by a notorious tibet that red him 10
| suspect who "cracked - the Jail as soon ..
be heard that IT had been broken into.
Detective Valseiy bad reported. on the 10th
uitiBo. that John Mekeon, alias Jimmy"
| Williams, 0.ios Whitley" had said to
| him. while hall drunk, and in boastful
mood You'll bear skyrockets over in the
kiDgS-County peDitentIary some day.
When hcKeon said this be was at
Twenty-sixth street and Tenth avenue
with a man whom the detective did not
know. Valley asked Mckeon quietly who
his friend was, and iesrncd that he was a
man who had worked in the shOe-sbop Of
| the peDitentiary as an outside hand while
Mckeon worked there as a convict. Al
| this struck the detective as peculiar, and
he made report Of il next day 10 Inspector
Byrnes. McKeOn's record was then looked
over. IL was fguDd that he had done"
ten years for highway robbery ssd eighteen
months for larceny. The latter term was
spent IN the kings.COunty peDitentiary.
McKeoD was also shot by Detective Farley
about two years ago, on Nineteenth street
near Tenth avenue, while resisting arrest
for stealing horse. He was taken badly
wounded 20 ~. NinCent's Hospital, but
escaped from there soon after. With such
4 record befor, him, the Inspector thought
| il would be wise 10 " shadow" the man
who proposed TO bring about an explosion
| of fireworks IN Kings county. Detectives
Valley and Rogers and Roundsman Cor
mack, who is well acquainted with the
| habits Of McKe0n's gang, were selected 70
watch him.
On Thanksgiving morning, when the
robbery Of the penitentiary was announced,
IL was at once plain TO those behind the
scenes that MckcoD and his mysterious
friend knew all about the matter.
What is called "close pipe" was i'm
mcdiately placed upon McKeon's house,
No. j0l west Twenty-secOnd street. De-
tective Valley was not surprised TO see
the same strange man he had noticed with
McKeon before appear there. nor At all
astonished that McKeon did not once take
the air during the day.
~ rHE Tolls.
when chance offered Valley called upon
Mckeon and charged him directly with
having broken INTO the pen,entiaay. The
CX-cOnyict denied that ha knew ANYTHING
about the matter, but be was arrested anu
taken to Inspector Byrnes's house. Here
be said he had had nothing to do with the
Job himself tutthat be was "acTIantcd
with the follers what had" Then the willy
criminal gave the names of several persons
az those who had accomplished the d1riDc
robbery. The Inspector saw that he could
l6aTn more by letting MckeOn 90 and hay-
ing him watched than by Keeping him, ~
the names be- furnished were worthless and
tho information be gave was not much
better. Therefore the suspected man
was released. but from that minute
the eye Of a detective was constantly on
him. He seems 20 have supposed that the
Inspector believed all he had .aid. aud
would worn In some other direction. In
order 10 place a detective upon the ease
who would know every foot OF ground
freGuentcd by MckeOn and his "pals." the
Inspector selected Sergeant Dcyery, and
added Detective Hickey 10 the number
already on the ease.
For almost a week the detectives. dis
gui,cd a. 'lOne>horemen. hid themselves in
lumber-plcs on the west side OF Eleventh
avenue al night. and silently awaited the
expected diyisiono of the plundcr.
DRAWING TIE NET.
On sunday night Inspector Byrne-
Joined the watchers. and was rewarded hy
seeing Mckeon's mysterious friend Jump
on q ear and meet MckeOn At the corner Ol
TWcpty-third street. The Two were soon
after Joined by three men, and McKeon
Der, on the top Ct which ROundSman Cor
mack and Detective Rogers were perched.
Mckeon was seen Ia give a small package
10 hi> friend, and the gang then sepa-
rated. Rogers ,lid down the lumber
pile and followed the man with the
package 10 No. % Pulaski street,
Brooklyn, where il was said that his
name was William Pettibone and that ne
was a cutter in the shOe-shOp OF the Kings
County pcnitontiary. IL only required this
fact 10 convince the Inspector that Petit
bone WAS the man who had put UP the job
TO rob the prison. Nothing decisive was
done in the ease. however, until Monday
night, when MckcOn and "pal' named
Tommy COnnors were arrested on Tenth
avenue near Twenly-trst street. They
were seized by Inspector ByTncs and De-
tcctiges Hickey and Rogers and Sergeant
DCyerc. who took away their pistols and
marched them handcucd 10 the Central
office.
MAKING : CLEAN BREAST or IT.
Detectives Rogers and Valley then went
over 10 PeithOne's house, in Brooklyn,
and took him also into custody. He broke
down when accused Of planning the rob
berry and made clean breast OF il. In an
swer 10 the Inspector questions, Pettibone
told the following story:
- have worked eight wears i'm the pcni-
Tertiary shoe. shop and got SIC "A week.
About two wears ago John Mckeon, who
was prisoner and worked near my bench.
told me that the Office Of the prison was the
easiest place to beat he ever saw. He
said If I would help him when his time
was out he would rob the place. All he
wanted me TO do was 10 tell hlm when there |
was money in the safe. ] agreed 10 do II.
but " hen AIckeOn got ont he was rearrest-
ed and kept in the TombS three weeks, and |
the matter hung fora time. On the day be-
fore the Job was done | told MckeOn that |
money bad been received ut the jail to |
pay on the men. IL was arranged TO rob |
the place, but was not TO take any part III |
II. The next night McKeon and three other |
men met me on Broadway, BROOKLYN, be- |
tween Second and Third streets. lie sald |
he would finish the Job by II o'clock. II |
vas then 8. | waited for them on Nostrand |
avenue until after II. and then went home.
They agreed to give me $500 Of the swas'
but all | got was $40, which Mcheon |
handed me one night under lumber-pile |
up town in New York"
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
When McKeon came to be questioned |
he. too, confessed. "Pettibonc,' he >aid.
''was to cut the bars on the second floor oil
the Jail during the day, and was to leave a |
string hanging down. This was 80 coul! /
tie a rome on and rim in oyer the blrs ana /