The San Francisco call., 1896-12-24
WILL THE THIRD
ATTEMPT SUCCEED
Scheme to Save Three
Burglars From Impend-
ing Punishment.
John ONeal, Under Thirty Years
Sentence, Comes to Their
Rescue.
He Will Testify in Court That He and
Billy Flannery Committed the
Burglaries.

The police were considerably surprised
yesterday to learn that John O'Neal, who
is serving term of thirty years In Fol.
som penitenliary, had been in the County
Jail for few days, and their surprise was
intensified when on making inquiry they
ascertained the reason for his temporary
removal from Folsom.
Patrick Kelly, Ed Colvin and w. Cor
bett, three notorious ex-convicts, will ap-
pear in Judge Wallace court on Monday
to stand thir trial on two charges of
burglary. They are the men who are &C
cused by the police of breaking into the
house of W. S. Duval, 1912 Pine street, on
August and stealing about $1,000 worth
of jewelry and OF breaking nto the house
of II. ]. Hendrick, 1922 Washington street,
few nights later.
Most of the stolen jewelry was found in
rooms on Grant avenue occupied by Kelly
and Colvln and a woman calling herself
keliy's wife. Detectives Gibson and
Wren, who hav charge of the case. claim
that they have ample evidence to secure q
conviction.
Now 1t seems that O'Neal, who is also
an ex-convict and is a friend of the three
prisoners, will on Monday in Judge Wal
lace's court testify that he and Billy Flan-
| merry, an ex-convict and fugitive from JUS
tice, com mitted the burglaries at the Duval
and Hendrick residences. This testimony
is with the object of securing the dis
m issal OF the charges against Kelly, Col
vim and Corbett.
As soon as this fact became known to
the police diligent inquiry was made, and
| it was ascertaIned that friends of the
| three prisoners had been for three or four
weeks going 10 Folsom penitentiary and
conversing with O'Neal, and they do not
hesitate to say that ONeal has been pre-
vailed upon to accept the responsibility
for the burglaries because he has thirty
| years to serve and If he were convicted OF
perjury any additional sentence would
| not worry him.
O'Neai was the man who smashed the
window in II. Wachhorst's ieweiry-sto re
on street, Sacramento, September 18.
and stole trayful of diamonds. He wa s
pursued and captured and gave the name
| iden titled as O'Neal, and having two prior
convictions for robbery he was
sentenced to thirty years. On Oc-
tober 6, 1886, he was sentences to
ten years in Folsom for robbery
in San Joaquin County, but was pardone d
on September 8. 1S89 A few nights later
he held up and robSed Policeman !. 7.
Dedu III lHc rear Vi bIlc 4hliil, anu Ou W.
VEN Der 81 he was sentenced to five years
in Folsom. He is now SO years of age.
Billy FIannery, who o. Neal says was his
companion in the Duval and Hendrick
burglaries, is wanted by the police for
grand larceny. He secured bonds after
his arrest last September, one of his bonds
men being L. c. Burton, 1926 Jackson
street. He showed his appreciation of
Burton's kindness by breaking into his
house on September 13 along with Will
liam McElroy. and stealing quantity of
iewelry. McElroy was chased and cap
tured. but Flannery escaped and since
then he has kept away from the City.
Kelly, Colyin and Corbett have twice
made an attempt to regain their liberty
since being arrested last August While
in the City Prison awaiting their prelim-
mary examination they concocted dar-
ing scheme to escape with the assistance
of Keliy's wife. By some means or oter
she was able to get a duplicate of the
key to the prison door and it had been ar
ranged to make the attempt during the
police parade in October, but the prison
officials learned of the scheme and frus-
trated the attempt. Two or three weeks
ago they made another attempt to escape
from the County Jail, but were unsuc-
cesstul.
As they have found that they cannot
escape by breaking Jail, the police believe
that their friends have now hit upon the
scheme to get o Neal to swear in court
that he and Flannery com mitted the
hJ1r 10