The herald., 1894-04-14
MORE ABOUT THE ROBBERS,
ComstOck Says That His Ar
rest Is an Outrage.
Thorne and FitzsimmOns Also De-
clare Their Innocence.
All Three Men, However, Have Bad
Reputations-An Attempt to Make
One of Them Con-
fess.

Js W DTlButoui VINO IL Responsible tor
the arrest of John Comstock, Walter
Thorne and Patrick Fitzsimmons, ar
rived in the city yesterday from the
Little Tejunga cahon, whore he un-
earthed evidence upon which to charge
the men with wrscking and robbing the
train at Roscoe last February. Brighton
is better known by his connection with
the arrest of Evans and Morel. When
questioned on the arrest he refused to
give out any of the evidence. but said
unhesitatingly that he had q good casa.
The evidence against the men is said
to be strong, but there are some who
believe they will never be convicted by
a jury. Attorneys Peck q Ling have
been engaged by the defendants as coun-
sci in the case. Mr.. Peck has known
Fitzsimmons for years and has defended
him in several suits in San Bernardino,
where he came from two years ago. 1t
is thought that Comstock and Thorne
also came from there, or have relatives
there.
Comstock, when seen in the county
Jail yesterday, denied all knowledge OF
the robbery. He said that it was an
outrage that he and Thorne were ar
rested on such q charge. When asked
about the gun and mask that United
States Marshsl Gard uneRrthed at his
house, Comstock said it was falsehood;
that he had no gun covered beneath q
mattress. The only way he could zee
how the story originated was that the
officers took his gun from the house.
AS to the mask made from an old hat,
there was nothing in it-they might
have got an old hat, but certainly no
mask.
Fitzsimmons also tells the same story
as to his innocence, and Thorne seems
to be very much hurt over his arrest on
account Of his mother at San Bernardino.
The young man is q brother-in-law of
Fitzsimmons. He is we'll known in the
vicinity OF San Fernando, where he con,
Quoted dancing school. His reputa-
ton is not good.
Fitzsimmons has been arrested 8 num-
Der of times on different charges. About
year ago he wac acquitted of burglary,
having been accused OF stealing a set OF
harness from Simon White OF Burbank.
Thorne was also thought to be impli-
Gated, and, although there was war
rant for him, he was never arrested.
w AlbC hoO - O0hSJ EtOiOA bOOA hlbCL nO
lost his harness, but it WAS never re-
covered.
Cometock has a reputation almost
equal to that of the other two men. He
WAS tried by Justice King at Burbank
on several charges, and managed in each
instance to escape in some manner.
prominent officer, in speaking OF
the arrest, said that while Gard had ar
resteo men ct bed raprtatinn. he did not
think they would ever be convicted OF
the crime for which they stand accused.
No jury nowadays will hang q man on
circumstantial evidence, unless it is of
the strongest character. So far as
known no other evidence has been Sc
cured. Just what will be brought out
at the preliminary examination remains
to be seen.
P. E. King, who was formerly Justice
of the peace at Burbank and Garvanza,
and before whom Comstock was tried
several timee, is the man credited
with having given the officers the
clue which led to the arrests. The
morning following the robbery King
came to the city and gave out his aus
picions in the case. The records of all
three men were investigated and found
to bs bad. Every officer except Gard
abandoned the clue within a few
weeks. King says that Com
stock is an expert in using
dynamite, in which case it would have
been an easy matter for him to make
the bomb used in blowing open
the express car. King also says that the
fireman on the train on the night of the
first robbery can identify one of the men
by the peculiar accent of his voice. He
makes the sensational statement that no
has witnesses to prove where the robbers
camped the night of the robbery.
As in the case against Smith and John
son, the attorneys for Comstock, Thofne
and Fitzsimmons will attempt to prove
an alibi. Another good point in their
favor ia that there has been no Mexican
money found, and the men are known to
have spent no more money since the
robbery than they did before.
The plan by Detective Bowler was first
mapped out in an endeavor to get Fitz-
simmons to confess. With this end in
view he was placed in the city jail, while
Comstock and Thome were placed in
separate cells in the county jail. The
officers believe that one of the men will
weaken and admit having committed
the robbery.
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