The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-04
FIRST DEGREE MURDER
Frank Connors Has Been Con
victed in Utah.
is WELL KNOWN IN BUTTE
Was Sent Twice to the Penitentiary
From Silver Bowie Shot an o.
flcer Who Was Placing
Him Under Arrest.

| Frank Connors, an all around crook
of many aliases, who had been known
| as Sailor Jack" in Butte and was
twice sent to the penitentiary from this
| city, has been convicted at Provo, Utah,
of murder in the first degree, the jury
recommending that he be imprisoned for
| life. Shortly after completing his sec
| ond term in the Deer Lodge peniten-
| tiary Connors, or, as he was known in
| Butte, Mike Conway, went to Utah and
| turned up at Provo on the 9th of last
| June. He tried to beat his way on a
| Rio Grande Western train, in company
with another man named Morris and
| they were arrested by William Strong,
| special policeman on duty at the
| Western depot While on the way to
| the town prison with one of the men,
| supposed to have been Conner, the Off
Ger was shot and killed Several of the
states witnesses identified ConnOrS as
the man whom Strong had under arrest,
| but no one saw the shooting, and the
| evidence against ConnorS was entirely
circumstantial. His partner, Morris,
| made his escape and has never been APP
| pretended.
Connors not only has a record of
|
through the West as an all-around
crook In Spokane he was known as
| Buck, and also as Sailor Jack At
| Cripple Creek he was known as Collins,
and Chief of Police Mcdaniel of that
| city gives him this certificate of char
| acter:
| collins is the man who stole cash
register here last February. He was
| not convicted, for the reason that
| the county attorney failed to show own
ership We consider him a man that
may be guilty of anything; in other
words. a bad one.
]. F, Farley, chief of police of Denver,
says Connors was known in his depart
ment as Frank Crawford. He was ar
rested with one D. H. Davis for high
way robbery There was a good case
against both men," says the chief, "but
we failed in prosecution on account of
the absence of the complaining wit
| ness, .
In a recent letter to the sheriff at
Provo. Conley and McTague of the
| Deer Lodge penitentiary wrote: The
| photo you sent is that of a man whom
we had here twice; first as Frank Col
| Inns. received here September 80, 1872,
for forgery. for IS months, and the sec
| ond time as Michael Conway, received
May %, 1894 for burglary, for three
years" In another letter it was stated
| that the title of sailor in its different
forms followed him there, but they
knew nothing of his past record. He
| was a very hard worker while in prison,
and distinguished himself in that re-
gard. ,gs
:, The records 81 department No. 2 Of
| the district court bear out the facts
stated in the letter of Conley and Nc
Tague. -...s..... ..,.. .
Before the jury in the murder case
| at Provo retired Connors was apprised
of the information that had been Sc
cured against his character, and seem
| ed somewhat confused with the infor-
| nation. At first he was very 10th to
discuss either case. but finally confess
ed the case mentioned by the chief of
| police of Denver. He said that he had
been in Spokane many times, and had
also been in Montana In Spokane, he
said that he had never been arrested
but he did not care to consider the Mon
tana cases. In fact he said, II do
not at this time care to discuss any of
those matters, but l may at later
| date" sis.
When asked what he thought about
the trial, whether it had been fair or
not, he said that he. thought it had
been very unfair. The jury, he thought.
were all prejudiced,t and the judge had
been very one-sided in his rulings.