The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-03-17
MYSTERIOUS ROBBERY
Butcher McComb's Safd
Broken Into and Over
$500 Stolen.
USUAL IGNORANCE OF THE POLICE
The Store in Plain Sight From the
Street, Yet No One Saw
the Thieves.

The most daring robbery chat has been
committed. for some time, in the Fourth
Precinct. occurred last night. Thieves
entered the butcher store OF John Nc,
Coombs at Atlantic street and jackson
avenue. Cracked" the safe and carried
away money and securities to the
amount OF $780, There is much
mystery surrounding the robbery and the
police are unable to give any explanation
as to how tho burglars bursted the safe
lock. The store ia on one of the most
prominent corners in Bergen. The
neighborhood is thickly populated
and how the burglars carried on their
work without being seen is 8 omething
that the police do not cara 30 disc uss.
The safe is located In small ofice az
the front window, and any one In the
oftlce can be plainly seen from the street.
The burglars effected an entrance by
forcing open window at the rear end OF
the store. They found it an easy matter
to force open the Office door, thus gaining
access to the safe. How they forced the
Jock Is not known. as there ia not O
marx on the front of the door. 1t is sup
that they struck the com mbination deal
with muffied hammer until the fastenr
ing on the iuside of the door gave way.
WHERE THE vALUABLEs WERE KEPT.
In small steel cash box, on the inside
of the safe, was $50 Ia cash, and securities
worth $500. The thieves carried this box
to the small room at the rear of
the store, drilled several holes into
it and forced it open. The cash
drawer in the Office desk contained about
| $40 In small change. This was also taken.
the burglars made no effort to cover mp
their tracks. In their trips from the back
room to the Office they dropped scores OF
/ n no
| in the front door could see that something
was wrong. The safe door was wide
open.
| The first one to discover the robbery
was Mr.. David McCoombs, brother OF
the proprietor When be opened the
store at quarter past six O'Clock this
morning he noticed papers on the floor.
| When he saw the safe he discovered the
| robbery.
The Fourth Precinct police were at
| once notified and Detective Holtic made
| q thorough investigation. He found no
| clue, however, of the robbers
THE POLICE KNOW NOTHING.
| Policeman John McGovern, who was
| on the post up to midnight, said that
| he looked into the store at half
| post eleven o'clock last night, and that
everything was all right tden. He tried
the store door and it was locked. He saw
nothing unusual while he was on the
post, and is positive that the bbery was
not committed before twelve O'Clock.
Policeman McGrath was on the post
after midnight and he knows nothing OF
the robbery. He saw no suspicious
! characters while he was on duty and
although he passed the store several
times during the morning he saw moth
| ing that looked suspicious. The matter
will be thoroughly investigated by the
police.
Mr.. McCoombs, when interviewed by q
reporter of THE JERSEY CITY NEWS this
morning, said:-
when left the store last night every
/ window and door was securely fastep-
| ed, but the thieves found it an
| easy task TO force the catch on
| the rear window. How they broke the
| safe lock is something I cannot under
| stand. There is not mark on the 'front.'
| OF the door, yet the lock was broken. The
securities, which were taken, will be OF
no use to the burglars. They cannot pa
| csshed by anyone except myself"