The San Francisco call., 1896-10-08
was frustrated yesterday afternoon by the

was frustrated yesterday afternoon by the
| merest accident.
The three burglars are Patrick Kelly,
Ed Cohn, alias Frank Martin, and Will
liam Corbett, alias William Gallagher,
alias Edward Lynch, all ex-convicts.
Kelly and Cohn were arrested on Aug
ust % and Corbett two days later, but they
were not booked till September 4.
They were the three men who COM
mitted numerous burglaries on Mob Hill
and the two charges on which they were
booked were for robbing the residences OF
W. s. Duval, 1012 Pine street, on the
night of August 2 and the residence of A.
o. Holtrick, 1922 Washington street, on
August 4. Cohn is believed to be the
man who entered the residence of Captain
Lees, 1922 Pine street, in the early morn
ing of August 22, but being observed by
Policeman Ingham he hastily made his
escape by rear window and by climbing
the fences till he reached Taylor street.
At the time Kelly and Cohn were ar
rested in a room on Grant avenue 8
woman with whom Kelly was living was
also arrested. She claimed she was Kel-
lys wife, and gave the name of Josie
Kelly. She was detained for q few days
and was released.
The cases were assigned to Judge Con-
lan's court, and have been dragging along
since Septemb Der 4. Yesterday the three
men were in court for few minutes till a
witness was examined, and the woman
Kelly was there also. She has been visit
ing Kelly almost every day, and when
they left the court she followed them to
the City Prison.
She returned about o'clock yesterday
afternoon, and Kelly sat down beside her
on bench in the main corridor reserved
for prisoners and their friends. Police
man Shaw, who is the prison doorkeeper
and has his desk in the main corridor, OBJ
served the woman slip two packages into
his hands and another package into the
waist on his trousers. lie at once notified
Captain Robinson, and the captain on
searching Kelly found two packages of
opium in his pocket He searched for the
other package and gave Kelly shake,
and a key with shoulders at both ends
dropped on the floor from the leg OF his
trousers.
The captain saw at once that the key
was an exact imitation OF the key for
opening the prison door. and it flashed
into his mind that the woman was party
to scheme for a break from the prison.
Kelly denied that the woman gave the
key to him and she was also loud in her
denials, but she confessed that she gave
him package of opium. She was booked
ou thc CudfSe VI pdSSluS opium TO q
prisoner, but more serious charge may
be registered against her.
Captain Robinson tried to open the
prison door with the false key, but it did
not work. 1t is too wide by about the
thirtieth part of an inch; otherwise it is a
perfect imitation. 1t is made of a square
piece of galvanized zinc and the space be-
tween the two shoulders is soldered
How Kelly succeeded in getting such an
exact imitation of the door-key without
getting an Inn preston of it is a mystery.
The key never leaves the hands of the door
keepers day or night, the one passing it to
the other when relieved from duty. Kelly
has been in the prison for six weeks and
as the woman called upon him very fre-
quently he had ample opportunity of
studying the door-key. The probability is
that he drew sketch of it from the i'm
preston on his mind and gave it to the
! woman. who had the false key made by a
| locksmith.
The cell occupied by the three prisoners,
which is known as the hole in the wall,
was examined and two files made of gal
vanized iron were found in it. The files
had been given to Kelly apparently to
| help him make a key if the woman had
been unsuccessful in getting Iocksmith
! to do the job.
| After the excitement had subsided
Captain Robinson ordered Kelly placed
IN a cell py himself, and had talk with
! him. Kelly confessed the whole scheme.
He admitted that the woman gave him
the key, thinking that she could not be
| punished for it, but denied that she gave