Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-31
NABBED IN LOS ANGELES.
A Detective Story That Rivals Any
bv Anna katherine Greene.
DYNAMITE USED In ALL RAIDS.
The Renting of a st. Louis House Fur
nishes the First Clew.
OTHER ARRESTS ALMOST ASSURED

Glendale, suburb of St Louis, on the
night of November 80, is under arrest A
female accomplice is also in custody, and
the capture Of the remainder of the gang
seems only matter of time. The leader
turns out to be Adelhert D. Sly, a noted
eX-convict from the Missouri penitentiary.
The latest series of exploits by S ly and
his fellow bandits began with the robbery
of the street car barns at Omaha in October,
in which they used dynamite and secured
large amount of money They committed
robbery on the Metropolitan street car barns
in Kansas City in the same month, and then
came the robbery of the Pacific Express
Company, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad,
near Omaha, on the night of November 4,
and the American Express Company rob-
berry near Western Union Junction, Wis,
on the night of November -.
Dynamite Their InvariabIe Weapon.
In all of these robberies Sly figured as
leader, and their engine of war almost in
variably was dynamite After the robbery
at Western Union Junction, William A.
Pinkerton found out that Sly, in 1885, was
acting as driver for the American Express
Company at ST. Joseph, Mo. He defaulted
with package containing $40, 600. At that
time, after long search, Slv was appre-
hended in California by the Pinkertons.
He was returned to Missouri and sentenced
10 seven years in the Missouri penitentiarv
at Jefferson CITY.
On coming out it was learned that Sly be-
came associated with a gang of rough burg
lars who made their headquarters around
Kansas City and Omaha. On the theory
that Sly was possibly concerned in the rob-
berry at Western Union Junction. the Pink
ertons began investigation toward locating
Sly, and succeeded in tracing him to st.
Louis few davs previous to the Glendale
robbery OF the Frisco road.
The First Clew to the Gang.
Pinkerton's force and the force of Chief |
of Police Harrlgan, of ST. Louis, soon |
Joined hands. and some davs after the Glen |
dale affair Chief Harrigan received valuable |
information from furniture dealer, who |
furnished houses on the installment plan, |
concerning a woman and four men renting |
q house on the outskirts of ST. Louis. The !
people occupying the house mysteriously |
disappeared three DAYS after the Glendale |
robbery, leaving the furniture and every
thing behind them.
Harrigan found the house had been oecu-
pied by a blonde woman, supposed to be |
the wife or comuanon of one of the gang
The gangs baggage was traced to the depot |
and the check numbers showed that they
were all bound West. Chief Harrigan's |
men traced them to Omaha where the party
split up, taking different routes West |
Chief Harrigan's men managed to get ac-
curate descriptions of the tugitives and
Sly's identity was fixed beyond question,
was also the identity of the woman.
sly Traced to Los Angeles.
Sly had gone by way of Denver TO South
ern California. With this information r.
A Pinkerton went at once 10 San Diego and
searched that place thoroughly, then going
to Los Angeles, arriving there about a
week later. For several DAYS he kept up
search of the saloons, gambling houses and
places of that kind without success. Satur- |
dav last Mr.. Pinkerton, accompanied bv
Ross Whitaker of the San Francisco detec-
tive force, and an officer of Los Angeles,
took up a watch in the Los Angeles post
Office and express Offices All three were
furnished with photographs and accurate
descriptions of 81 V.
On the afternoon of SATURDAY. Mr. Pinker-
ton observed man in the postoffice who
answered the photograph description. Tap
ping him on the shoulder. and stepping UP
and taking his hand that he could not
attempt &c use gun. as Slv is a desperate
character. Mr.. Pinkerton addressed him bv
the name OF Sly. Slv denied his identity
and laid his name was \. S. Denton. That
settled it in Mr.. PiMkerton's mind at once,
for Sly's right name is Adelbert Denton
Sly.
Stolen Property in His Pockets.
In his possession was found 81, 900 lot
Of personal property and the gold watch
taken from Messenger Mulrennan, of the
Adams Express Company of Glendale. Slv
tried to throw the watch away, but it was
recovered. S1v's arrest was kept very quiet
until to-day with view of getting others
of the gang.
Slv refused to make any statement, know
ing full well that, being an ex-convict of
the Missouri penitentiary, his next impris-
onment, if convicted, means life. A search
Of the house ut st. Louis gave Chief Harri
gan positive evidence against the thieves,
as in this house was found parts of paper
and other evidence, taken from the express
car.
Chief os Police Harrican. of St. Louis,
and the Pinlertons feel confident that it is
now a comparatively easy task to get the
other men.
Siy's Previous Crooked Record.
Adelbert d. Sly, better knoyn in the
crooked fraternity as Bert Sly, is native
of Wisconsin. He was born and raised
near Oshkosh. After committing the ex-
press IvDDtlN III -. JHSclil- loI Nnlcn ne
was sent to the penitentiary in 1884, his
family moved to St Joseph, Mo-, where
they now reside. Since his release from
the penitentiarv in Missouri he has been
twice in custody in st. Joseph. once for
highway robbery and once for burglary, and
at the time of his arrest he was fugitive
from Justice from that city, where his wife
and three children now live.
HIS father and mother now live at In
dependence Mo. His avowed ambition
was to he a second Jesse James" The
desperate is ~ years of age, > feet 6ls
inches high, weighs 140 pounds, dark com
plexion, brown eyes, and black hair and
wears a dark mustache.
Aside from his daring and his utter dis
regard of the distinction of meum and teum,
his most notable characteristic is his
abstemious habits.
Desperate Band of Robbers.
The other men associated with Slv in the
robberv are equally desperate and equally
well known to the police Marion
Redspeth. whose wife or mis-
tress was to-day arrested in San
Francisco, was first connected with
the affair bv the local detective force under
Chief Desmond. In the use of explosives
used to complete the work of robbery at
Glendale certain distinctive methods
were observed which coupled the
safe robberies in the I'd
vicinity of ST. Louis IN both Illinois and
Missouri. Tracing these marks down it
was found that a man answering the descrip-