The San Francisco call., 1905-06-18
COMP ANY
DESTROY TICKET
Chief of Police Permits the
Agents to Mutilate Big
Winning Lottery Coupon
HELD FOR EVIDENCE
Prosecuting Attorney Stops
Court Hearing That an In
vestigation May Be Made

OAKLAND, June H.-Chief OF Police 8.
{. Hodgkins has permitted two lottery
company men to destroy in his presence
coupon that had won $500. The ticket
was in the possession of tho police as
evidence against John Perry. a West
Oakland saloon-keeper, at whose place
this ticket and many others had been
seized. Hodgkins admits that he allowed
the coupon to be mutilated. but he ex-
cuses himself on the ground that when
ne turned over the ticket in his Office to
the lottery people he did not know what
they intended to do with the bit Of paper
that called for a large payment OF coin
out of the company's treasury.
This condition of affairs was disclosed
this morning to Prosecuting Attorney A.
P. Leach in the Police Court during the
hearing of search warrant proceedings
brought by Perry to recover the tickets
that had been taken by the police. When
Leach picked up the bundle of tickets he
found the mutilated one. The numbers
had been destroyed and across the face OF
the ticket was written, "Canceled, u. Ba-
bero, May IT," This was the only slip in
the bundle that had been thus handled.
AS the bunch had been turned over to
Leach by the police who had held GUS
tody of the tickets, the Prosecuting At
torney at once called a halt to the court
proceedings.
Your Honor, these tickets are evidence
in this case" declared Attorney Leach.
while in the possession Of the police
this piece of evidence has been mutilated.
ticket that had won a large prize has
been destroyed without the authority of
this court. l purpose to know why that
valuable coupon was destroyed, by whom.
to what end and by what inducement.
desire weeks time in which to make a
thorough investigation Of this proceed
ing
Leach was granted continuance until
June "a. The Prosecuting Attorney de-
clared that tie extraordinary nature of
the case warranted the most thorough
and complete investigation.
After Perry's arrest the company
drawing was held, and the saloon man
discovered that one of the tickets the po-
lice had seized was big winner. Before
he had a chance to attempt to recover
this coupon agents of the lottery COM
pany went to Chief of Police Hodgkins
and persuaded him to produce the tickets
taken from Perry. Hodgkins admits he
did not surrender the prize ticket to his
visitors until after he had a long conver-
sation with them But surrender 1T he
did. No sooner was the coupon in their
hands than the agents quickly tore on
the numbers and thus destroyed all
chance that the company would ever be
Obliged to cash the $500 coupon. Then
the chief representative wrote across the
mutilated slip and returned 1T to Hodg-
kins.
The Chief of Police explained his con-
duct by saying he did not know that the
tickets he had in hand were Perry's. He
saws he thought they were some that
had been taken from c. Isaacs, who was
one of his callers that day. He con-
fessed he had made mistake in permit
ting the agents to get their hands on
the ticket, but he did not explain why
he did not take steps to prosecute the
men who committed statutory onense
by destroying or muulating evidence.
Hodgkins statement follows:
AZ think 1t was on Wednesday, May
n. when a San Francisco attorney and
d Babero and c. Isaacs OF Oakland
came to my office and Isaacs introduced
Babero to me as the agent OF the COM
many to which the tickets that were
seized belonged. Both men stated that
one Of the tickets. had it been sold, would
have won $500; that the ticket not pelng
sold. was a dead ticket. They produced
. search warrant receipt for the tickets,
and knowing that Isaacs had been arrest
ed and from their statement to me that
he was an agent, l got the impression
tbot the ticket was one Of the lot selzeo
From his place. They guaranteed tnat
there would be no contest, and after con-
siderable conversation on that subject !
handed them the ticket to cancel
'Instead of their canceling the ticke,
tbav tore Off the numbers, which did
not think they were going to do.
subsequently, I learned that the ticker
did not belong to Isaacs, but was one OF
a number seized in the saloon OF Jonn
Perry. / do not know how the error oc-
Cured. and regret it very mucn.