The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-02
WEST is A NOTED CROOK.
JAIL PRISONER WANTED FOR
ALL SORTS OF CRIMES.

Several Thousand Dollars at hOm-
nsviIIe-.JeweIs Were Taken n Year
Ago From Residence of {. :. He
bard-When West Was Arrested
They Were Found in His Posses
sion-He Has Maintained Reti-
cence as to His Alleged Crooked
Dealings That Would he Model
for All Other Gentlemen of His
Kind-sent Back TO ThOmasville
to stand Trial.
1t appears now that the man, l. II.
West a partial schedule of whose misdeeds
appeared in the Morning News of yester-
day, was not taken away from the city
by Pinncrton detective but was sent to
Thomasviue by the officers of this eoun-
IT, by whom he was arrested, to answer
for a charge Of burglary he is alleged 70
have committed there.
Indeed, it was upon suspicion of having
committed this burglary that West was
held in Savannah. AS far as the Durham,
y. c., burglary is concerned, it IS now
pretty well settled that West was con-
cerned in that, and that he has served
term in the North Carolina penitentiary
for this ofense. He takes refuge, how
ever, in a multitude of aliases, and tells
to those with whom he is willing to con-
verse so many different stories that it is
difficult to determine just what he actu-
ally knows and through how many crml-
nal practices and proceedings he has &C
tually passed
On the night of Jan. q, 1899, the resi-
dence of Mr.. c. S. Hebard, in Thomas
vile, was entered and robbed of a num-
Der of valuable pieces of jewelry, belong
ing TO his wife and himself, and amount
ing in value 10 several thousand dollars.
The thief was not known, and for Ions
time il was impossible TO discover him.
1t is to the credit of the officers of Sa-
Vannah ana Chatham county that West,
10 whom suspicion strongly points, and
against whom there is almost positive evil
dence of guilt, was finally apprehended.
The suspicion of the officers was arous-
ed by the display that West made of the
jewels he had in his possession. On a
night in last December he lost over $3.50
in the keno game that is in cons slant OPP
Grafton on Broughton street, and to pay
his losses placed valuable brooch, in the
shape of Il grasshopper. with eyes Of ru-
bles, body of emera,dS and diamonds, and
legs of diamonds, in pawn. The value of
the ornament was at least $3.50 but West
disposed of it for about one-thirtieth of
that sum. AT the same time he had in
his possession other valua bic ornaments
and pieces of jewelry that he was wiling
TO sell for a song. Suspicion was aroused
in this manner, and West was placed I'M
der arrest.
Some few days after the arrest the Off
GERS OF the county were appr.sed of the
fact that the robbery in Thomesville had
Deen committed. They received a notice
of the loss of the valuable pieces of jew
elry and a description of their appear
anee. Acting under the information thus
secured. the brooch already described was
recovered, as were also a number of other
valuable pieces of jeWe.ry that West eth
er had in his possession or had recently
parted with at the time of his arrest.
West had been kept in JAN in the hope
that he would acknowledge his completely
in other important burglaries of which he
is strongly suspected. The hope has been
vain, for despite every effort on the part
of the officers. West has maintained an
eXAeme retcence that has baffied every
attempt that has been made to penetrate
it,
So far az his alleged completely in the
burglary of Mr.. Hebard's home at Thorn
asvile is concerned, the evidence in the
possession of the officers amounts TO this:
on the day preceding the burglary, and
for several days before that time, ne was
mt Thomasville and when he was arrested
in savannah the stolen property was In
his possession. 1t is thought that this viii
be enough 10 convict him.
The reward offered by Mr.. Hebard for
the recovery of his properly. with no
questions asked" was $50 but as the
brooch of rubes, diamonds and emeralds,
was the only piece of jewelry stolen from
him that he could positively Identify, The
reward has been pro rated, and the Off
GERS of the city and county, by whom the
arrest was effected, are still much out on
the outlay made necessary by the thor
Ough investigation into Vests past record
that they have made. They have recover
Cd. nevertheless, a number of other valu-
able pieces of jewelry, that await iden-
tdcation by the proper owner TO be turn
ed over TO him.
West is suspected of being one of the
most prominent second story workers
and sneak thieves of the country and is
thought to have been implicated in the
commission of many crimes that have
hitherto baffied the police and detective
departments of the cities and towns in
which they have been carried to a sue
cessful conclusion. The amount of jew
cry that he displayed and the number of
valuable stones, mounted and unmounted
that he had in his possession, and for
which possession he was unable to ac-
count, and other suspicious circumstances
connected with the mans brief and me-
teorlc career in Savannah, combine to lend
color and give credence to this story
The man is marked with mole between
his eyes, on the top of his nose that
woul insure his identification anywhere.
il projects out from his forehead in man
ner that cannot be mistaken. He is prob
ably 30 years old. and Is described bv the
officers who have come in contact with
him during the last few months as a
pretty shrewd customer"
And then again he is not quite so shrewd.
Fer instance, when the Pinkerton detec-
tive, who was in town several days ago.
went 10 the jail and spoke to West, the
latter began TO recount to him the injus-
tice and the series of cruel and unnatural
punishments to which he claimed to have
been subjected. The burden of his song
was that he had been confined in jail ana
moi permitted his liberty and that alto
gether he was one of the most horribly
ill-treated men on earth. The detective
listened patiently.
See here. West is reported as having
SAID. You are an intelligent man md /
81 tnl1 tl.E...