The herald., 1897-05-03
a LIVELY RECORD SINCE HIS
ESCAPE
Passed Through the City Yesterday
Strongly Guarded and Hand
cuffed to One Officer

TeCOTQ OI CIlIAC0 COAAAAAAASSS0 AAA v~AAS0o
parts Of the country. passed through
the city last night in charge OF two
Oakland officials. He is being taken
from Tucson, Ariz., to Stockton by Su-
pervisor w. H. Lorenz and P. c. Stroup
of the Stockton insane asylum. from
which institution ne escaped about two
and one-half years ago.
About six years ago Vital murdered a
Chinaman at Bakersfield. He had at
tempted to rob the Chinaman, and In q
fight that ensued the latter was killed.
He was tried and convicted of the
charge and sentenced to be hanged.
Vital is Greek, and is well connected.
Through the influence Of some of his
| friends the Greek consul was interested
| in the case, and he succeeded in prevail
ing upon Governor Markham to COM
mute the sentence to life imprisonment.
His friends did not stop at this, hCw-
ever, and through their efforts the mat
ter was again brought up, and Vital was
adjudgea insane and sent to the insane
asylum at Stockton.
This was about four years ago. After
remaining in the asylum for eighteen
months, Vital managed to escape. His
plans were very carefully laid and sue
ceeded to perfection. He secured nail
and pried the piece off window so as
to get at the weight which is placed in
side. This was taken out and blanket
was wrapped around it. With this in
strument Vital pried the bars Of his
cell,apart and managed to escape. He
was shackled at the time. but made his
way to blacksmith shop and cut away
his bonds.
Nothing more was heard from Vital by
the Stockton officials until last March,
when it was learned, that he had been
arrested in Tucson for burglary. Extra
dition papers were issued and arrange
ments were completed for bringing the
prisoner back to this state.
Since his escape from the asylum Vital
has not been Idle. He has committed q
number of robberies and has served a
term in the states prison in New Mexico
for burglary. While being taken to pris-
on he demonstrated. to the officers the
sort Of a man he Is by jumping through
a window from the train while 1t was
running at the rate OF thirty miles an
hour The tradn was stopped, and. as the
prisoner was shackled he was easily re-
captured. .-sa
While in Tucson he committed a num-
ber of burglaries. the houses Of the dis
trict attorney and assistant district at
torney being. among those entered.
He was apprehended by City Marshal
Sam W. Finley Of that city, who recog-
nized the man by descriptions and pho
tographs which. he had received and i'm
mediately notified the Stockton officials.
Vital is a peculiar man and the officers
do not know what to make of him. He
will at times when talking swing his
arms about his head and act in an ex-
traordinary manner. AS a usual thing,
however. he acts in a perfectly rational
way. At one time shortly before his
escape from the asylum the officials were
convinced that he was not insane, and
were on the point Of returning him to the
authorities who had made the commit
ment.
Vital is small man and perhaps 40
years of age. He has shifting black eyes
and never looks anyone full in the face.
The officers are keeping very close watch
over him during the journey, and he is
kept handcuffed to one of them all the
time. The party came in on the S:2O
train from Ell Paso last night and left
half an hour later for the north.