Los Angeles herald., 1890-07-26
He is Found in a Room on
First Street.
The Detectives Watched Him
for Several Days.
He is Taken to, and Lodged in the
County Jail.
What He Says About His Hiding-He
Promises Some Disclosures Later
On-His Bondsmen.

For several days past all sorts of
rumors have been bruited about as to
the whereabouts of the missing assem-
blyman, James M. Damron, whose mys-
terious disappearance caused such a
sensation on Monday last; but the gem
eral belief prevailed that he had left the
country, and had found a refuge with
some of his friends in Mexico All these
reports, however, were disproved last
night, for at 5 O'Clock in the afternoon
Damron was under arrest and in the
custody of Constable Fred. G. Smith /;
and it was subsequently learned that he
had not been out of town, but had been
secreted by some of his friends in a
building in the very heart of the city.
From the account of his capture, as
told by Constable Fred Smith to a
HERALD reporter last night, it appears
that Damron had been "shadowed" by
Detective Jennings, one of Smith S depu-
ties, and an employee of Harris q Metz
ler's detective agency, since Friday
evening last. To keep the shrewd
lawyer under surveillance constantly
iCHullC UllO expenditure VI d COuSlU-
erable sum of money, and in order to
insure the return of this amount Dam
ron's bondsmen were required to put up
certified checks in the sum of 500 each
as their respective shares of the reward
offered for the capture OF the fugitive.
Those who did 80 yesterday, at the re-
Quest Of the detectives, were Mrs. Perret,
Messrs. Willis, Smith and J. Marion
Brooks. These preliminaries having
been disposed of satisfactorily, Smith,
who asserts positively that he did not
know the exact location OF Damron's
hiding-place up to that time, met Jen-
nings by appointment, and the two men
corner of First street and Broadway.
On reaching the third floor of that
building, between and 5 O'Clock, the
officers made tour of investigation,
and at the end Of a hallway leading to a
room in the corner of the building
found the door locked. Gaining an
entrance to the room adjoining, which
was furnished, they found that door
opening into the corner room was also
locked and, after several attempts to
force an entrance, Jennings went away
to obtain the key from the janitor,
Smith standing guard meanwhile. On
Jennings's return lie opened the door
leading from the hallway with the key
he had gained possession of, and, as he
did so, Damron opened the other door
quickly and rushed into the furnished
room adjoining, right into the arms of
Fred. Smith, who was waiting there to
receive him. The constable informed
him that it would be of very little
use for him to make any resistance, as
"the game was up" whereupon Damron
calmly submitted to arrest, and beyond
momentary excitement and furry,
evinced no surprise at being taken in
his hiding-place. When arrested he
was minus coat, vest, shoes and collar
his apparel having been removed APP
parently on account of the sitting heat
OF the room, which was vacant, its
sole contents being chair, two
empty beer glasses, which were ON
the mantelpiece, and long rope
of the thickness of the average clothes
line. At Damron's request he was per-
mitted to don his clothes and shoes and
clean collar, after which he was taken
to the Office of w. H. Shinn, of the firm
of Shinn u Ling, attorneys at law, on
the second floor of the building, where
he remained in consultation with Shinn
and Justice Lockwood for about two
hours. Shortly after o'clock he was
taken up to the county Jail, to the gates
OF which institution he was accompanied
by Messrs. Shinn and Lockwood, and
turned over to Captain Darcy.
A few minutes later Mr.. Damron was
rendered reception in the Office of the
Jail by the newspaper reporters, whom
he Immediately recognized, and seating
himself at a small desk, he chatted for
several minutes in general way before
In reply to their interrogations Dam
any statement whatever about his arrest
or surrender, whichever they might
please to call it; but he did want to say
that he had never attempted to leave,
nor had he been outside the
corporate limits of the city.
Had he wished, he could easily
have done so, as his friends had come
from the uttermost parts of the county
and asked him to accompany them to
various places of safety, but he had re-
fused them all. He had been in hiding
within $50 yards of the county Jail all
the time, and had frequently seen his
present custodian, Capt. Darcy, from his
point of vantage. He had seen all the
newspapers, day by day, and was muck
surprised and not little amused, on
several occasions, to read of his own
arrest in Arizona, or of his having been
seen on the wharf at Ensenada and
sundry other places. He knew, of
course, that his action in the
matter had estranged his best friends
from him, and the public generally had
been prejudiced by the press against
him, but he felt confident that in few
days the disclosures he was about to
make would change the. sentiment in
his favor very materially, In regard to
certain stories published IN the papers,
he felt very much aggrieved, as he had
enough to bear up against without hav-
ing to fight against falsehood. The
two stories about the banker and
the peanut vendor were particularly
calling, because there was not particle