New-York tribune., 1902-04-30
RIOT IN A POOLROOM RAID.
CAPTAIN SHEEHAN KNOCKS \ MAN
DOWN AND PLAYERS FIGHT.

u,o,.e,,an+ in the shopping district was Gre
..ad ,,Astardav afternoon by a raid on poor.
rno,n in the business building at NO "e'N
Fourteenth-st- The raid was loIio"eu ~
fight in which Police Captain sneeiiii
sar1.Ad and knocked down his assaiant' ana
| petective Black drew revolver asaiiio'
nv. Smith. the alleged proprietor OF the pun, ~
room who was choking Detective OIuei mn
black In the face After the fight was o'ei w.
ma troll wagons loaded with policemen IN "
appeared in the street t1fty-elSh'
taken in the raid bundled INTO 'he
ons and carried to the police statioii III
Thirtfeth-st Many women were III 'he 'i
of shoppers who watched the performance 0i'1
cheered the police. , ,d
IF was 4:3O p. m. when Captain Sheeiiah an
Detectives Black. Underhi and Maher sthi 'eu
nm the stairs of the building No I west foui
..or+bst They had heard that pooirooih was
running on the third floor of the bulldlhs- plf0h
and JJnderhill went ahead. AL the I'M" NO.
landing they encountered a LOOKOUT WIZ
TO keep them out of the rooms 1heS p"'Ae
him aside and broke open the door leadlng 10
an office. where Smith and three other men "eie
ar,ased In taking money bets Underhlll
tried 70 arrest Smith, and the two were soon III
y fight. Smith was apparently getting the pest
of II and was throttling the detective. when
T7lack drew his revolver and compelled Smith 10
surrender
Meanwhile, Captain Sheehan and Maher had
got into the large room where the players were
The fight behind the partition warned the play
ers that raid in progress and they nade
a break for liberty. One of the foremost men
struck in the dark at Captain Sheehan with
a straight arm blow the fellow was fioored. and
then riot began and the players got hghtlng
among themselves.
When the excitement was at it's height Maher
aodc 1led fGr
wagon with squad of policemen. Sergeant
Fuchs sent fifteen with the wagon, and
they helped in the round up of the players Then
the patrol wagon from the West Thirty seventh
st. station was summoned to help carry the big
batch of prisoners to the Tenderloin station.
Because of the resistance offered during the
raid, Captain Sheehan. contrary to his usual
custom, decided to arrest all the persons caught
IN the place. The prisoners, fifty-eiSht in ALL
were locked up Those in the poolroom, with the
exception of Smith and three other men, were
charged with disorderly conduct Smith and his
associates were charged with being concerned
in the running of pooroom.
Smith described himself q "9peculator,' or
No 65 Second-ave His associates described
themselves as John Kennedy. a jockey, of No.
22S East One-hundred- md seventeenth ST
Samuel Franks, an insurance agent, of No &c
Second-ave., and Joseph Evans. a salesman. of
No. 121 West Ninetieth-st. In Smiths posses
sion found 1862. and in the poolroom were
seized racing charts, betting slips and a rele
phone.
During the raid and the transfer Of the pris
oners, Fourteenth-st. between Fifth and Sixth
aves., both sides of the street, was packed
with sightseers, who cheered the police as wagon
after wagon filled with prisoners was driven off
to the station. There We're many women shop
pers in the crowd.
The transfer and booking of the men occupied
nearly hour The prisoners all well
dressed, and one described himself actor,
two physicians and another a cloak manu-
facturer.
Magistrate Deuel. opened court In the police
station last night, and admitted Smith and his
three associates. charged with maintaining n
pooroom to bail The bond was signed by
Martin Engel the East Side Tammany poll
tician. Nearly all of the players were also re-
leased bail. The charge being disorderly
conduct, Sergeant Shells accepted bonds to the
amount of S100 for them. Michael j. Sullivan,
actor. one Of these. He did not secure
his liberty until s. o'clock. about the time he
was due to do his turn with the Four COhans
company at the Grand Opera House. in Brook
lyn. When the bond signed Sullivan bolted
from the station and hurried 10 Brooklyn as
quickly as his legs could carry him.