The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-03-02
Desperate Act of a Prisoner
at the State Prison
This Morning.
WAS TRYING TO BREAK JAIL
Had Padded His Clothes With
Newspapers, Which Kept a
Bullet From His
Heart.
Special to the Jersey Citu Ne,cs.

TRENTON, March 2, 1S94.-Joseph Wall
witz alias John Malwitz. burglar, serving
a twenty year term in the State Prison, at
tempted to escape at half-past one o'clock
this morning, and in his efforts
to secure his freedom, shot
killed Deputy Keeper James B. Lippincott,
one of the most trusted under officials of the
prison, and man of large family. No
more daring or desperate attempt ON
the part of prisoner to get
outside of Jerseys great strong penal
institution is chronicled in its history and the
same may be said of the ingenious character
of the effort. Wallwitz is Jersey City
man. In the spring of 1891 he robbed
house in Union county, and it was then that
he received the twenty year sentence.
ATTACKED KEEPER WATERS.
1t was Just half-past one this morning
when he emerged from his cell in the west
wing of the prison and stood in the corridor.
With saws made of watch and clock
springs, he had manufactured saws
through four bars of his cell doors. The
bars are 30 inches thick. Standing in
front of the cell he awaited the presence of
any one of three turnkeys whose duty it is
to pace the corridor hourly. In
a moment Keeper James Waters
came along Like flash Wallwitz sprang
back into his cell and instantly he was out
into the corridor again this time with piece
OF rope which he had cut from ventilater.
With the rope he formed moose which he
threw over Waters head. Lassoed like an
animal Waters reeled and fell and the
convict bound him to the floor, but not be-
fore Waters gave an outcry. His voice
rang out in alarm through the long silent
corridor and awakened hundred prisoners,
had been bending over the PROSTATE form Of
the keeper, quickly arose and passed down
the corridor.
THE ALARM.
Waters managed to crawl to an electric
button in one of the walls and pushed it.
This sounded an alarm bell in the
ssCenter,n where Keeper John B. Lippincott
was on duty. The latter ordered Keeper
Francis Leonard, who was somewhere in the
west wing at the time to investigate, but
getting no response from Leonard by
signal, Lippincott himself hastened toward
the wing. In a recess or ante-room he took
an iron bar out of the door and with this
in one hand and a revolver in the
other he hastened on He had gone, how
ever only few yards further when he came
face to face with Wallwitz. This sudden
meeting with The prisoner before be had
reached the part OF the prison in
which the trouble was supposed to be
surprised the keeper, but not Wallwitz. who
aimed and fired without delay. In his left
hand Wallwitz carried the ugliest slungshot
ever seen in the prison. In his right hand
was revolver which he had wrested from
Keeper Waters. There were no witnesses
Of the terrible encounter that ensued and all
that is positively known is that the convict
killed Keeper Lippincott by shooting him in
the thigh and back, and that the keeper
wounded the convict slightly with bullet
from his revolver.
Lippincott's aim was not quite perfect and
his bullet only grazed Wallwitz's forehead
Both weapons were still smoking when
half dozen turnkeys arrived
armed with revolvers, guns and
iron bars. Wallwitz recognized the
futility of any further attempt to escape,
but he was not cowed. Raising his revolver
he fired twice into the bunch of turnkeys,
but both balls lodged harmlessly in the
prison wall. &r
MwALLwITz SHOT.
One of the keepers at the same instant
fired at the prisoners heart and he fell.
Then he was pounced upon and his revolver
and slung shot were taken away. He
had emptied five chambers of his
weapon, but beyond the slight wound in his
forehead inflicted by the dead Lippincott's
bullet, he was himself unharmed. 1t was
found when he was got back into his sell that
he had padded his clothes heavily with
b, books ,a1 and papers, and nc: that that
rested in roll of newspapers which were
wound fully three inches thick about his
body.
CAUSE OF LIPP1NcoTT's DEATH
Lippincott leaves a wife and seven chill
dren The post mortem examination upon
his body was made at the morgue
by County Physician Cantwell, who
says that the bullet striking Lippin-
colts thigh was the one which caused
death. Lippincott was undoubtedly shot in
the back after he fell and was writhing in
the death agony. An inquest will be held
tomorrow or Monday to get all the facts in
connection with the affair on record.
How Wallwitz got into possession of the
watch and clock springs with which he sawed
through the iron bars of his cell door was
not explained at the prison this morning,
except by saying that prisoners in
long confinement have opportunities
seems impossible to stop it altogether Pris-
one1s boarding such things are frequently
discovered, and escapes from the prison are
very rare.
THE LAST EFFORT AT ESCAPE.
The last that occurred happened fou1
years ago, when two colored convicts
escaped by way of the corridor and big
faont doors of the prison after sandbagging
and nearly killing the keeper The
victs off in the outskirts of that city, and
shot one of them dead. The other is serving
his extra time for breaking out of the
prison.
A BOMB OF SAWDUST.