Newport weekly independent., 1902-02-21
HIS IDENTITY INVESTIGATED.
William Cole May Be One of Leaven- worth Convicts William Mosby Identifies Part of Stolen Jew elry Was Probably in
 Other Burglaries.

''Wm. Cole, alias w. J. Brown, the negro arrested Monday afternoon by Detectives Wolff and Lawless, is the nucleus of lively interest at the police station,o says the Memphis Scimitar.
 civilian Mosby, of Newport, Ark, whose jewelry store the negro robbed of several hundred dollars worth of jewelry, was in the city this morning and identified quantity of the stolen goods that were found on Cole at the time of the arrest.
 "There still remains a la1 @1so- ment of jewelry, however, for which the owners have not been found. Rings, breastpins, chains and trinkets of various kinds comprise the list of stuff There is enough to fill hat.
 "Cole will not tell how he came into possession of the jewelry and it is up to the police to find the original pos sessor of it. It is strongly suspected by the department that Cole has fig ured in many thieving operations prior to this Newport affair, and the goods found on him is collection gained by many robberies.
 "The negro halls from Indian Terri tory. He has villainous countenance and mean disposition. That he is a desperate character there is no doubt. When the arrest was made he showed resistance and attempted to reach gun in his hip pocket, but was brought up with jerk before he had time to cause troublel
 "There is picture of an escaped negro convict from Salt Lake City in the Detective, well-known police magazine, which closely resembles the general appearance of Cole. A reward of $50 is standing for the ar rest of the escaped convict. The off, cers endeavored to identify Cole as the fugitive, but fell short on several salient points of resemblance. There remains possibility, though, that the PIicOllOl illdy EJlOFC UO OO pLC lhdA UdC Utah officials are looking for.
 ssAnother theory has been advanced that Cole is one of the Leavenworth (Kas. escaped Federal convicts. The fact that he came from the west, where the mutineers are known to have taken refuge, and the lack of informa- tion of the mans character and repu- tation from Western cities strengthens this belief.
 "A thorough investigation by the police is being made and interesting information is expected to be forth coming. His Bertillon measurement and photograph were taken today and will be distributed to cities throughout the country"
 SECURED THE GOODS.
 William Mosby and Officer R. M Laird returned from Memphis We'd nesday night, but left the negro, Wm. Cole, under arrest for burglary, with the authorities of that city, who be- lieve this last crime is not the most serious offense against the law, of which he is guilty.
 Laird and Mosby state that Cole is not local negro, and don't remember of ever having seen him prior to this arrest.
 MT. Mosby secured all of the prop erty stolen from him, which did not exceed over $50 in value, notwith- standing the high estimate placed upon same by the Scimitar reporter. | Only small part of the money stolen from George Redman could be identified, but MT. Mosby returned with $11.15 found upon the person of the negro to partly replace the loss of MT. Redman's $25.