The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-23
A Most Daring Attempt to
Rob a Market-Street
Drugstore.
THE SCHEME WELL PLANNED
tors-Dr. Freeman's Narrow
Escape.

and from the fact that violence was also
attempted and that the scene was a drug
store, the police had their recellections of
the murder of young Eugene Ware some
months ago in the drugstore, corner of
Hayes and Market streets, revived, and at
once plunged into an investigation of the
details of the reported case.
The scene of the attempt was the No
Percentage Pharmacy on the south side of
Market street, near Sixth, and the time
was II 80 O'Clock Friday night. The store
is open until II o'clock every night, and as
good counter trade is conducted the tills
usually contain quite sum of money
when closing-up time comes. William
Robertson was the clerk on duty, and the
story of the attempted raid is best told in
his own words:
81 and DR.. Freeman, who has an Office
in the rear of the store. were the only per-
sons in the place at about :15 o'clock
when we heard noise in the rear yard.
1t sounded like the falling down of pile
OF boxes. and knowing that dozens of
fence we concluded that some predatory
cats had caused the disturbance. The
doctor then went in behind the prescrip-
ton desk, and five minutes later a
! medium-sized man with red face and
blonde mustache came into the store hur-
riedly. In response to my question as to
what he wanted he said
"'I'll give you the prescription
HE drew out tablet and wrote in a
very neat manner prescription for an
ounce of chloroform. He signed some
name which do not remember Although
he acted in nervous manner | concluded
after seeing how the prescription was writ
ten. that he was physician. While put
ting up the order l happened to glance at
the front window and / saw man there
peeIing earnestly into the store and whirl-
ing handkerchief about in his hands. I
did not pay much attention to that, but
before handed over the chloroform there
was more noise in the rear and DR.. Free
man went out to see what the cause of it
was. The man waiting for the drug saw
him 20 out and then asked me to hurry.
AS handed him the parcel and he threw
out the money for it heard crash in the
rear. The man grabbed the chloroform
and hurried out, while 1 hasteneds to the
back yard to see what had happened.
II met DR.: Freeman returning He said
that man had been in the yard and was
about entering the door when he pushed it
open from the inside. The only light there
came from an inside gasjet. All the doctor
saw was shadow retreating. He cried,
who is there?' and in response heavy
crockery mug whizzed by his head and
broke in pieces against the brickwork of
the house. We then got candle and in
vestigated, with the result that we found
two boards had been torn off the back
fence-that was the first noise that we
heard-and it was through the aperture
that the man had entered. The whole
scheme was then plain to US. When our
back door is open one can look clear through
the store behind the counter to the front
uyIn hn OF f6oY ,d,,x. tlnaro
with his handkerchief to give the man who
was supposed to be at the back door notice
when went behind the prescription desk
to fill the order. Then, if everything was
clear, he could sneak through the small
rear room and knock me senseless while |
was out of sight of any one. They did not
reckon on DR.. Freeman being in the store.
When he went out the man who came
through the fence thought it was me, and
picking up mug that was lying on the
sink in the yard threw it al me with the
intention of knocking me out. The other
men in front seeing Or. Freeman appear
saw that their game was up. and lost no
| have no doubt that the fellow that got in
by the rear fence would have sneaked in
on me and knocked me senseless. The
other two might then easily have gone
through the store and people from the out
side would not have known whether they
WeI0 clIlDlOyeS VI uOU. lie man VINO pre-
sented the prescription is man who I'M
derstands the drug business, l could see
that"
The police are of the opinion that the
whole affair was a cleverlv concocted
scheme on the part of men who would not
even have hesitated at murder to accom-
plish their object. Had the man from the
rear caught Robertson behind the pre-
scrlption desk he might not only have
knocked him senseless but in the event of
a struggle even killed him. Access to the
rear Of the drugstore is easy.
There is a small back yard and high
board fence which shuts IL off from the
rear of a large brick building which runs
through to Stevenson street. This build
ing was formerly used as mill, but of
late has been unoccupied. 1t would be
easy for any one to gain access to it, and
from its rear rip couple of boards off the
fence and get into the drugstore yard.
After the excitement was over Mr..
Robertson and DR.. Freeman called for the
police. Special Officer Michael Hussey,
whose beat is on the opposite side of Mar
ket street, was one of the first to respond
and gathered the particulars. He secured
the neighborhood in search of suspicious
characters, but they had evidently gone
down Market street. Hussey, who has
been on the Market-street beat for years
and knows all the ins and outs of surround
ing oInait StiSetS. Hdu W SiNe up Tue chase,
as did Special Officer Peyser.
Officers McGrayn and Owens, who are
the regular policemen on the beat, also
undertook to trail the men. 1t is in their
hands that the case now rests.
Mr.. Robertson says that he can identify
the man who wrote the prescription if he
sees him. The man who looked through
the window he described as swarthy fell
low with a black mustache and wearing a
SLOUGH hat. DR.. Freeman states that on
account of the darkness he could not get
any view at all of the man who attempted
to brain him with the mug Detectives
were also placed upon the case yesterday,
but late last night they had no clew to the
men.