The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-03
POINTED OUT BY A WOMAN.
ROBERT JENKINS, ALLEGED sLAY-
ia OF JOE BIRD, ARRESTED.

Was Caught in a House on Henry
Street. In the Western Part of the
| City-A Sister of the Murdered
Man Betrayed the Whereabouts of
the Suspected Murderer to Patrol.
man CrOsby-MOb Wanted to Do
Him Personal Injury-Jenkfns De-
mics His Guilt of Any Crime and
Claims Not to Have Been I'm the
City When Bird Was Attacked.
Robert Jenkins known variously hither-
TO as Harmon jerks, Harmon jenkins and
! by half dozen other aliases, and strong
ly suspected Of the brutal murder Of Joe
Bird was arrested yesterday by Patrol
man Crosby and is locked up at the sta
ton house to await a further investiga-
ton by the police and the verdict of the
coroners jury.
Crosby found the alleged murderer in a
house on Henry street near West Broad.
jenkins submitted quietly enough and pro-
fessed to fail to understand of what crime
ne was suspected or with what offense he
was charged. on the way TO the station
house he was told that he was wanted
for the murder of Joe Bird, when he dis
claimed any knowledge of the death of
Bird or OF the fact that he had been at
tackled and cruelty wounded, evidently
while he was asleep.
The arrest Of jenkins was furthered by
a sister of the dead man, who had seen
the alleged murderer of her brother in the
house on Henry street, and reported his
presence there to Patrolman Crosby The
woman was extremely bitter in her denun-
Citations and her maledctions and threats
of vengeance, vented freely and vocifer-
ously upon Jenkins, attracted The attention
of a large crowd of the negro residents of
the vicinity in which the arrest was made.
These thronged around the box at which
the policeman and his prisoner were stand
ing ana Joined with the sister of the muir
dered man in her wild threats against Jen-
kins. For a time there was plenty of ex-
element and Crosby was glad when the
wagon arrived, and he was enabled TO get
his prisoner in and away.
When the station house was reached Jen-
kins was identified by a number of the ne
groes who were in the habit of frequent
ing the eating house kept by Bird, as the
man who was with Bird, in the latter's
room, on the night preceding the murder
and on the morning when the fata, blows
were struck Their evidence, though, is
not as positive and conclusive as il might
be- They do not swear that IL was Jen-
kins who was in the room on the early
morning of Oct %, when Bird was at
tackled In his sleep, but gather it merely
from the alleged fact that ne was seen
about the house earlier in he night II
is evident that the evidence nov obtained
must be materially strengthened before Il
60 ~
upon jenkins.
To a Morning News reporter Jenkins
said that he had not been around Birds
eating house for week prior to the time
when the blows were struck and had new
er even heard of the killing until he was
told by Patrolman Crosby, after his ar
rest, for what he was wanted. jenkins
claims White Bluff as his residence, and
said that he had been staying there since
a week before the commission of the
crime, He had never come into the city,
and hence had never heard of the muir
derous assault upon Bird or of his SUBJ
/ sequent death. He claims to be able 10
substantate the statement that he was
not In the city on the morning of the
murder or the preceding day.
The police think they will be able to
produce evidence to contradict fatty many
of the statements made by jenkins as to
his whereabouts and movements preced-
ing and since the day of the crimes COM
mission They believe they will be able
to show that he was in the city and at
Birds restaurant on the night preceding
the murderous assault, and that he was
1 the last person seen in the company OF
the dead man. But the evidence is not
conclusive and needs strengthening in ma
terial particulars before 1t would serve to
satisfy jury of the guilt of the accused
man.
IL will be remembered that Bird fingered
for nearly week after the inhietiCn Ct
the injuries and died on last Sunday at
/ the home of one of his relatives. He never
recovered consciousness sufficiently to
make an ineligible statement and this
means Of securing information was lost to
the police and detectives.
The arrested man, Jenkins, bears a bad
reputation and had been out of the pen
itentiary, after serving a five-years' sen
tence for burglary, only a few weeks b.
fore the murder of Bird occurred. He Is
not intelligent and when seen al the sta
ton house appeared to be badly frlghten d.
However he retained enough of his
! nerve and his wits to stick 20 the Story
of absolute ignorance of all details of the
\ crime or even Of its commission, and could
not be induced to vary il.
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