The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-10-08
Officers Got a Tip Satur-
day Evening.
STORY OF SHOOTING
OF Mrs. Haas Told BY Popp--
The Time Spent In the
Woods and Swamp
BY Him.

On saturday evening ABOUT y O'Clock,
John Popp, who shot Mrs. Lucy Haas
at her home, 712 Madison street. on
Tuesday Of last week was arrested by
officers Archie Smith and Lewis G.
Smiley in barn on the farm of Henry
Riehl, about four miles northeast Of
the city adjoining the Brush college.
At 6:20 Saturday evening, informa-
ton was received by Turnkey Bech-
erer to the effect that Popp was in the
vicinity of the Riehl farm, and officers
Smith and Smiley were detailed to in
vestigate the report. They procured
horse and buggy and drove imme-
diately to the farm. Going to the resi-
dence, they informed Mr.. Reihl that
they wished to
SEARCH HIS BARN
at once. According to their directions,
he procured lantern and followed
them to the barn. The officers quick
ly and noiselessly entered the building,
closely followed by Riehl. A glance
showed that Popp was not in sight ana
the three glided past the grain bins and
entered the open space in front of the
stalls. The light from the lantern re-
vealed the object of their search on the
floor, in sitting posture. He was rub
bing his eyes as though just having
awakened from nap.
Hands up!" said Smiley, as both
hn C,,,it hn;
guns, and up they went. He lowered
them again and as he did so, Smith
sprang forward and jammed his gun in
to Popp's ear, saying, None of that,
John. Put 'em up" And Popp, know
ing that resistance was useless, and
would bring on trouble in which he
was bound to be worsted,
QUICKLY COMPLIED.
A 32-caliber American bulldog revolver
was found in his trousers pocket. up
on searching him. 1t was a five-shot
revolver and was fully loaded. Popp
said that it was the same revolver with
which he had shot Mrs. Haas, and his
statement is confirmed by the fact that
the bullet which was extracted from
the side of Mrs. Haas was from 32-
caliber gun. Popp was brought back
to the city and locked up in the city
prison, about o'clock.
The story which Popp told of the
shooting and his subsequent conduct
from that time up to the evening of
his capture is as follows:
"On the night of the shooting and
for two or three days before, l had
been drinking considerably and on
Tuesday night was pretty well booz-
ed. About o'clock / went down to
the neighborhood of the Haas house
and sat down on pile of telephone
poles near the Wheeling & Lake Erie
tracks where / could see the house.
had pint of whisky with me and every
little while would take drink. Pret-
ty soon saw two Italians go into the
house and II made me SO mad that
did not know what I was doing. I
started for the house and / don't re-
member Just what did. / knew that
/ had done some shooting and had
SHOT MRS. HAAS
because ! saw her fall. I ran out OF
the house and down Madison street,
south to the creek. and waded across.
| went into the woods on the other
side of it and staid there all night.
When / woke up in the morning and
remembered what / had done, / was
nearly crazy, for / thought that l had
killed her. / went over to the water
tank on the Pennsylvania as I had
some friends there in the restaurant,
but when / got there found that they
were gone. / then headed across the
country for the Mcdowell farm, which
Is about five and half miles north
west from the tank. / got there about
IL o'clock and went into the dry swamp
on the farm and hid in clump of
bushes. From this place I could see
all the country for some distance
around. / sent boy for some tobacco
and told him not to tell that he saw
me. Pretty soon / saw him coming
back with some officers, and / went over
to a big swamp about quarter Of a
mile from the one was in and waded
in the water and mud up to my waist
with some bushes to hide me. And
pretty soon l saw the officers coming
toward me again and l was
BADLY SCARED.
They looked all over the swamp, but
did not see me as l was hid too well.
wanted to go out and give UP, but |
thought that they would shoot me II
| did so kept still. / staid in the
water for about four hours. ! slept
that night in the woods near the swamp
and the next day / went down to the
Riehl farm. knew Riehl, for l had
worked for him on his farm. / asked
him to let me sleep in his barn but he
said no. also asked for newspaper
to see IL ! had killed Mrs. Haas, but
Riehl didn't have one and didn't know
that she had been shot. That night
slept in a straw stack on the farm.
The next day ! spent In the woods on
the farm next to the Riehl farm and