The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-13
POLICE RAID
THIEVES DEN
Find Stolen Plumber of all De :
scriptionS
THIEVES HAD RENDEZVOUS
F. C.. Merritt and Burt Burns
in Jail
THIEVES HAD RENDEZVOUS

| In the arrest Of F. c. Merritt and Burt
Burns the police have concluded that the
mystery surrounding the disappearance
of various articles from ali parts of the
city has been solved and that they have
unearthed nest of thieves.
When the old house at 726 North Wich-
tia street, which has been the rendezvous
Of these men, was raided and searched
By the police yesterday, plumber of every
description was found piled high in every
nook and corner. Several of the many
articles found have already been identi-
fed by the owners, but the greater
amount has not been claimed. After the
house had been searched the officers
turned their attention to the premises
and a great stack of stolen goods was
found underneath the house. 1t is gen.
orally supposed the two men had a mar
ket for their booty, for the greater
amount of that which has already been
found could not possibly have been Of
any use to the thieves unless there was
some means of turning it into money.
There was found stored away in the
tools, paint and painters supplies, lace
curtains, clothing, hats, lumber, pickets,
little china dishes; in fact, it seems that
nothing was too small for these thieves
to carry home.
The house chosen by the thieves in
which to store away their ill-gotten plum
der is an ideal rendezvous for a gang
Of thieves. 1t is a little, old, tumbled-
down house which sets back from the
street and is surrounded by a grove of
fruit trees and a tall hedge. While it
is almost in the center of the city, it
is hidden by the trees and hedge and
very little can be seen of it from the
street. These two men have lived there
for some time, and while they were sell
dom known to work, it was never sus-
pected by even the persons living in the
immediate neighborhood that the old
house harbored a nest of thieves. 1t
is now thought that they have been
practicing their nefarious work for a
long time, for some of the articles found
in the house have been missing for
weeks.
The credit for bringing the thieves to
justice is due to Dan Breese. Mr.. Breese
the old Ford property at the corner of
Pine street and Waco avenue. Several
times during the construction of the
building tools and other articles were
found missing Sometimes they would
be taken at night and often they would
disappear at the noon hour while the
workmen were at dinner. Sunday two
pairs of shoes belonging TO men who were
working on the building disappeared. |
Sunday evening Mr.. Breese planned TO |
lay for the culprits. and, taking a shot
He had no more than secreted himself |
when he saw two men stealthily approach |
the building and carry off lumber. He |
jumped from his hiding place and sue
ceeded in laying hold of one of the |
The fellow showed fight and I
tried TO get away, but Mr.. Breese pulled |
the gun on him and he changed his mind. !
The other fellow escaped, but Mr.. Breese |
called a policeman and the man he had |
captured was taken to the police station, |
where it was found that it was Merritt. |
Burns was captured Monday.
The two men were arraigned before /
Judge Alexander yesterday afternoon ard |
Merritt plead guilty to the charge of lar
ceny. He was sentenced to sixty days
in Jail. In default of bond Burns was
to Jail to await a hearing.