Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-07-06

BURGLARY.-Friday night about 10
o'clock Mr.. ]. +. Muir heard two men
in the yard of w. F. Padgett, at 607
King street. He found they were fore.
ing 40 entrance in the store door, and
concluded to give them surprise, he
procured his revolver and repaired to
the dividing fence, when he saw one OF
the thieves with an armfull of harness
making for the alley in the rear of the
store. MIR. Muir fired shot over the
head of the burglar and ordered him to
halt. The latter dropped the harness
aad Jumped the alley fence. AS be
reached the fence Mr.. Muir fired shot
at him which an examination of the
fence the next morning showed could
not have missed him more than few
inches. The thief broke off piece of
the fence in getting over and the bullet
hole was Just below it. The other burg
lar in the store. hearing the firing, ran
rapidly out and jumped the fence into
Mr.. Muir's yard and hid and among
pile of boxes. While Mr.. Muir was
feeling for him in one part OF the yard
he Jumped back into Mr.. Padgetts yard
and escaped in the darkness. Inc
shadow OF the large building made IL
so dark in the, yard that one man couid
not see another one 3 feet away. Early
the next morning Mr.. Muir found the
hat of the burglar that was in the yard
and the hat was identified in the Police
Court n having been sold 6 weeks ago
to Averett Roberts. The latter was ar
rested and brought before the Mayor
Saturday morning. Young Mr.. Davis,
clerk fol Mr.. Robert Arnold, testified
that he sold Roberts the hat. When
the latter was arrested he was wearing
a much worn hat and he averred that
the one ne bought at Mr.. Arnold's was
on a boat down the river. Several wit
ness testified that the hat found in the
yard belonged to Roberts, he having
been seen wearing it during the past
few days. The case was postponed un-
til night when the accused was again
placed in the dock. He was represent
ed by Mr.. John II. Greene. The evil
dence was to the effect that the prison.
or had been seen at half-past nine and
half-past eleven o'clock Friday night,
but there was no attempt to prove an
alibi nor how his hat was found in Mr..
Padgett's yard. The case was further
continued until seven o'clock Tuesday
night. The fact that store on King
street was robbed at comparatively
early hour in the night is causing no
little comment, and showed that the
thieves fixed an hour for operating
when the officers were about to DO re-
lieved and not patroling their beats.
1t may be stated that the city is now
infested with the same gang of thieves
which have been preying upon this
community for some time. There are
about dozen of them, and during last
winter seven were in jail, one in the
penitentiary and the others apparently
on their way to that institution. The
majority of them have, through the
miscarriage of justice, managed to es-
cape the penalties of their deeds and
ara loose again, and the authorities
have the same work before them now
which confronted them at the begin
ming of last winter. 1t is suggested
that while they escape the courts the
vsgrant act can be enforced with good
results, and when caught prowling the
streets at unusual hours they can be
picked up as suspicious characters and
r 1t on the chain gang.