The Arizona sentinel., 1886-08-07
FERRETINo OUT FIREBuc.
A Long and Successful Chase Af- ter the Mexican who Burnded the Yuma Bridge.

Detective F. T. Burke, of the Southern
 Pacific Railroad Company, returned home a
 few days ago from attending the trial of Jus
 to Palacio, at San Diego, for burning the
 Yuma bridge on October Y, 1885. Palacio
 was tried first on July 10 1886. The jury
 were out all night, and could not agree.
 They stood eleven for conviction and one for
 acquittal. On July IA, 1886 the second trial
 took place, and the jury found Palacio guilty
 as charged in the indictment. Palacio was
 ably defended by his attorney, and the Dis
 trict Attorney, Henderson, and A. B. Hotch- kiss conducted the prosecution. The Court
 sentenced Palacio to ten years in San Quen- tin
 A representative Of the Bee on yesterday
 had an interview with Mir. Burke, and
 gained from him some interesting informa-
 tion concerning Palacio and his crimes. The Mexican scoundrel is indeed a very dange-
 rous man, and the officers who succeeded, { after long and tedious chase, in bringing
 him to punishment. deserve great credit.
 At the time the bridge at Yuma was burn
 ed Mir. Burke was in Texas working on i some car robbery cases. He received orders from San Francisco to investigate the bridge tire at Yuma. Some time in November, 1885, Supervisor Ben Steinman, of this city, re-
 ceived letter from prisoner in jail at San Diego, whom he had befriended at some time,
 stating that prisoner would leave there 1 that day on the steamer for San Quentin who had stated to him that a third party had told him that usto Palacio had stated to him that he burned the bridge This let ter was handed to Burke, and he went to San Quentin to see the prisoner from San Diego.
 In the meantime Justo Palacio had difi- culty with Mexican at Yuma and cut him very badly with knife, and the party was not expected to live. After that Palacio went to Sonora, in Mexico, short distance over the line, and afterwards returned and.
 BURNED THE BRIDGE
 And then went to Lardo, Mexico, near the mouth of the Colorado river, and from there to Lower California. After Burke had seen the prisoner in San Quentin, the first of Jan. uary of the present year, he went to San Diego, to see Sheriff Bushyhead: And also to see the prisoner who wrote the letter to Ben Steinman, but the prisoner had been discharged from jail before he had arrived | there. Burke afterwards found him at Cat l ton. Sheriff Bushyhead referred Burke to | his outside Deputy, C. F. Murphy, who | knew Palacio and wanted him for grand lar i ceny. After informing the Sheriff and his. Deputy about his business, and after consul ting with Deputy Sheriff Murphy, they con- cluded to inform, through Murphy, officer Thomas F. Botello of Los Angeles county, who also knew Justo Palacio. Deputy She- riff Murphy recommended Botello as a good officer to ferret out Palacio from among the Mexican population. Botello is not connec. ted with the Southern Pacific Company's de- tective foace, but was specially engaged Tn this case to assist in working up the evidence among the Mexicans and Spanish, as the Company's detective does not speak that language. Botellos services in this regard were therefore most valuable. When Burke was Tn Mexico working up the case, some time in January last, Palacio came into Cali fornia, at Pia Juana, on the line of Lower California, and while there
 CONFESSED TO A SPANISH GENTLEMAN About the burning of the Yuma bridge. Previous to that time, and also before the bridge was burned, he told two other par ties that he was going to burn it out of re- venge. On February 25 1886, Palacio was at San Diego for petit larceny and md taken to Pala, 20 miles east of Fallbrook 'n the Southern Pacific Railroad, and was a When Sheriff Bushyhead of Pa acio's arrest he remembered that he was the nan Burke wanted for burning the Yuma I bridge, swore out warrant and arrested l 2alacio for the bridge burning, Justo Pala- 10 served one term of two years and half rom San Bernardino county for grand lar. 'eny in San Quentin under the name of Fran ,isco Palasco. All the officers in the diffe ent counties in which Burke had to work pave him their hearty support, and especially { Deputy Sheriff Will Smith, of Yuma, who ( vas untiring in his efforts to assist him in | | ,etting the evidence in the case.-Sacramen- o Bee.
 The attitude of the Government is I becoming more favorable for war with | Mexico.