The San Francisco call., 1899-09-07
Casey Yet Far From
Liberty.
HIS CONFESSION A SENSATION
POLICE CLOSE ON THE TRAIL OF
HOWARD.
Some of the Incidents That Made
the Double Life of Kelly
Strange One in This
City.

The confession of John Casey and the
announcement OF the arrest of John
Kelly, dangerous members Of the How
ard conspiracy, created yesterday q
local sensation. CRsey's admission that
he accepted $4,000 from Howard as part
compensation TO murder Willard F.
Green showed TO what desperate
lengths the gang was ready to go in
crime. Howard and his fellow thieves
would stop at nothing, and the author
tties are being congratulated that they
have destroyed a nest of thieves and
murderous minded men. There is still
q hope that Casey may be landed be-
hind prison bars and that he may be
prevented from inflicting injury upon
other communities. While he is the
least clever of the band of thieves he
possesses sufficient ability to make him
dangerous.
He was held yesterday to answer be-
fore the Superior Court by Judge Mo
gan on the charge of grand larceny by
trick and device in $4,000 bonds. His
attorney, George D. Collins, took an
exception on the ground that the
Judges decision was based on mere
conjecture and asked that 1t be record
ed, which was done.
The Judge, after reviewing the evil
dence, said It was necessary to con-
slider from the circumstances if Casey
had the felonious intent to steal by
trick and device, and everything point
ed to that conclusion. He had ordered
the clothes under an assumed name
and had sent a messenger for them
under the false preteXt that he was
sick. He had stated that he had never
ordered any clothes from any tailor in
this city, whereas it had been shown
that he had done so from Bloch, and
the label on a coat previously ordered
from Bloch and paid for was on it, but
the labels on the suit in question had
been torn off. Casey lied when he told
Detectives Gibson and Ellis that he had
never bought any clothes in this city,
and the Judge was satisfied that he
had shown felonious intent to obtain
the goods by resorting TO trick and de-
vice.
The appeals for a writ of habeas cor
pus taken by Casey before Superior
Judge AIurasky will be determined to-
day. In one of the appeals the thief
contends that the court has no jurts-
diction. This contention is purely
technical one. and is frequently made
in criminal cases more as a matter of
form than in expectation of relief The
second appeal insists that the case in
question is not a criminal one and
should be decided therefore by a civil
court. Superior Judge Murasky will
probably determine both points to-
day.
Unless there be a most unexpected
failure Of justice James Kelly will re-
main in a Mexican prison for some
time. The case against him is clear
and Chief Of Police Lees will send to
the Mexican police officials history of
some of the more important facts of the
criminals life. While in this city
Kelly led a remarkable double life.
After his arrival in the city he made
every effort to locate himself, wife and
child in a respectable neigh b6rhood re-
moved from the centers of traffic. He
is a man Of good address, plausible
and well spoken.
He easily makes an impression and it
was not difficult for him to secure the
habitation he sought. He rented apart
ments from Daniel Stivers at 1104 De-
visadero street and later at 1115 Pierce
street. The Stivers family is most re-
putabe and was therefore the more
easily imposed upon by Kelly's plausi-
bility. Moreover Kelly was a model of