The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-07-31
POLICE JUDILANT.
They Say They Have Evi-
dence Which Will Con-
vict a Notorious
Fence.
AFTER HIM FOR YEARS
Thomas Stevens, Junk Dealer,
Held in 81, 900 Bail
For the Grand
Jury.

Patrick Simon, seventeen years old. of
No 592 Green street and Edward Nc
Cauley, seventeen years old, of No. 26 Gil
christ street, were arrested last night by
Patroi1nan Rodgers, of the First Precinct
police station, charged with the thelf Of
two brass screws from the machine shop
of Van Der Beck and Sons, at No. 81
Steuben street. The property is valued at
S14 Peter Woods, seventeen years old,
of No. IFS Steuben street, was also placed
under arrest because he knew all about
the theft He was held as a witness.
Thomas Stevens, a junk dealer. of No.
1873 Morgan street, who bought the stolen
screws for $190 from the young thieves
was arrested on charge of receiving
stolen goods. The police are more highly
elated over the arrest of Stevens than
over the juvenile thieves
Simon and McCauley entered the ma
chine shop on the morning of July 26
while the keeper of the place was en-
gagged in another part of the plant They
took the screws and went Immediately
to Steyens's junk shop and sold them.
These acts they admit WOODS swears
that he saw the screws in their possess
sion. They were arraigned before Acting
Police Justice Mccormick in the First
Criminal Court this morning and held in
$500 bail each, in defaut of which they
were taken to Jail to await the action
of the Grand Jury.
Stevens came into court unconcernedly
with confidence begotten of past success
in eluding punishment after arrest on
similar charges. He was held in $1,000
bail for the action Of the Grand Jury.
The police officials tal@ the stand that
if it was not for the lfepers of fences
there would not be one-tenth the number
of young thieves.
Chief Murphy has had cause, he says,
to watch Stevens closely for several
years. Once the police succeeded in hav
ing the Grand Jury indict him, but when
the date for the trial arrived the only
witness the authorities had was missing
and Stevens was not brought into court.
In the present case however, the police
believe they have sufficient evidence to
send Stevens to jail for a term. When
Simon and McCauley went into the shop
there was present a boy who was selling
some metal he had found He heard
Stevens ask Simon and McCauley he told
screws The answer was, as reported by
this boy, whose name the police will not
divulge for obvious reasons, "At Van Der
Beek's.'' :
''Well. here IS $780, Get out of here" "
Stevens is reported as saying. The two
boys left and Immediately after SteveIs
called one of his employees and instructed
him ito throw that stuff in the wagon
and get away from here. L don't want
the police to come around here and find
that stuff i'll the place
This evidence the Chief thinks, will es-
tablish beyond a doubt Stevens's guilt.
and the Chief will see to it that when
the trial is held the witnesses will not
be among the mysteriously missing. In
speaking of Stevens this morning, Chief
Murphy said
I'VE have got him this time and it is
the end. / hope, of a difficult job. The
evidence in hand will convict HIM, I ara
sure We have watched the place for
years and now we have good case
against him.
"Oniy few weeks ago when we arrest
ed John Smith and George Nicholson, two
burglars who robbed a Philadelphia house
of several thousand dollars worth of sill
yer ana clothing, we learned that they
had arranged with Stevens to take the
swag. These arrangements they made
before the robbery and after they
did the job they packed the
stolen property into a box and shipped it
here to Stevens. We were watching him
pretty closely then and he became alarm
ed. He refused to receive the box when
it was brought to his door by the United
States Express Company, and it went
back to the express office. Here the two
thieves called for it and carried the swag
to Stevens. We found some of the goods
in his place, but we could not show that
he had knowledge as to how his GUS
toners came into possession of the prop
erty, but this time we can show a guilty
knowledge. The ease with which young
thieves can dispose of stolen property is
what encourages them in their criminal
careers. Could we successfully put the
fences out of business, iails would not be
80 well filled, and the young men of our
city would turn their attention to some
thing else than robbery