The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-12-09
Waived Examination and Want
ed Sentence at Once.
Officers Succeed in Recovering
a Much Stolen Goods.
Confesses to Stealing Three
VaIises in Mankate.
From Thursdays Daily.

CAoaAA AAAo ORAJs
Joseph Bentley was arraigned before
Judge Plymat this forenoon on the
charge of grand larceny in the second de-
gree, waived an examination, and was
bound over to the February term of the
district court. His bond was placed at
$500, and failing to furnish it he was
committed to the county jail
Sheriff Williams, Chief Donahue and
Detective NJ d. Bresnan took Bentley
to st. Paul yesterday morning. as stat
ed by The Free Press yesterday, to re-
cover as. much of the stolen goods as
possible. The officers returned with him
last evening, having been successful in
their quest.
Bentley at first refused, after his ar
rest, to admit that he knew anything
about the theft of satchel from the
union depot Nov. 18th, as charged in the
complaint against him. 1t took a good
deal of sweating before he concluded
and that. it was useless longer to deny
them. He was wearing the suit of clothes
and shoes stolen from Mr.. Day, the Min
neapolis travelling man whose dress suit
case he stole from the union depot
When asked how he came by them,
Bentley replied that he bought them of a
tramp for $3.50
After a while, Bentley admitted to
Chief Donahue that he had stolen Ru
dolph Ibach's dress suit case from Kel-
ly Brothers saloon, where Mr.. Ibach had
left it for short time one day last
summer. He said that he went into the
little room where it was and took it and
carried it to the union depot and check
ed it to Judson, where he was working.
Having admitted this much, he present
" admitted to the chief and to Detec-
tive Bresnan that he stole Mr.. Days
dress suit case from the union depot
Nov. 18th. He could not remember
whether he took it from a truck or from
the baggage room. He said that he had
Immediately gone to Minneapolis with
the suit case and sold an L. c. Smith
shot gun that it contained to q saloon
keeper in North Minneapolis for Sc. He
had sent the hunting clothes to a friend
in Wisconsin, and had worn the other
clothing He could not remember dis
tinctly what he had done with the other
contents of the suit case. 1t appeared
to the officers that Bentley had stolen
several valises and in disposing of the
contents of the different ones could not
remember what he did with the con-
tents of any particular one.
Bentley also admitted that he had
stolen another valise from the union de-
pot some time ago. The officers believe
that he may have taken more. They
recovered the Ibaeh and Day dress suit
cases and also small ladies yalise, the
owner of which is unknown. All three
are partly filled with clothing that Bent
ley stole, but which belongs in which
valise the officers are unable to say with
their present information.
The officers went to the saloon keep
er who bought the gun of Bentley,
CHANGING So on it. He thought that it
was probably worth $l5 He had loan
ed it out for the day, but promised to
yha,, IL
said that Shorty" Parker had brought
the gun to him with the story that he
had won it at rattle in Mankato and
that it had cost him only seventy cents.
1t was learned that Bentley's true
name is Joseph Parker, and that he
goes by the name of Shorty Parker, be-
cause of his small size. He has been
working at times in the vicinity of
Mankato. The first time that he came
into prominence was last spring, when he
stole bicycle from the upper hallway
of Mrs. James Kelly's residence on
South Front street. He got jail SEN
tence for this.
Bentley was anxious to be taken be-
fore the district court at once today,
SO that he could plead guilty and begin
to serve his sentence. He remarked that
he would probably get a year and a
half.
The catch is a good one, for the
stealing of salises from depots in this
city has been matter of frequent oc-
currence.