The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-13
BURGLAR GIVEN
SHORT SENTENCE
Thomas Lucas Gets Off Easily
Because of Help to
Authorities.

1t is not often that district judge, in
passing sentence upon a confessed Grim
inaf, deems it necessary to make state
ment in order that he may not be criti-
cised. Such was the case. however, IN
the Second district court yesterday morn
ing when Judge Howell passed sentence
upon Thomas h. Lucas, who shor,
time ago pleaded guilty to an attempt
to commit burglary in the second de
gree.
Lucas. with Stephen Quinn, was ar
rested q few months ago after the men
had entered several stores on Washing
ton avenue.
The arrests were made by officer r
D. PinCOCk and Fred NJ. Tout, who
watched the men operating from a dark
alley across the street Several charges
were filed against each of the men. They
were arraigned before Judge J. d Muir
ply and held under bail for the district
court. The prisoners surprised the au-
thoTities by arranging almost immediate
ly to secure bail Money amounting to
$500 was deposited in local bank, and
officials of that institution signed the
bail bonds. This action led to the be-
lief that the men were at the head OF
an organized band of criminals and that
the money was furnished by their Grim
inal partners.
When the authorities learned of the bail
bond being filed the prisoners Nere ar
rested on other charges and the bail
bonds increased several times over the
original amount. This served the pur-
pose of keeping Lucas and Quinn IN jail
During the middle of August a whole
sale jail delivery was planned by the
prisoners in the county jail and their
friends on the outside. Ali kinds of tools
and even gun were passed into the
prison, and a hole about two and one
half feet square was sawed in the bars,
enabling the prisoners to get out into the
corridor Of the Jail A day or two be
fore the wholesale break was planned
I Of he Of haF-
in Jail at the time informed the sheriff
of what was doing on the inside and the
plan was frustrated
Lucas adopted a novel idea in inform
ing the sheriff He wrote what was sup
posed to be a letter to his wife and gave
ii to one of the deputies, knowing that
it would be read before being mailed In
stead of being a letter to Lucas wife
it contained Information of the intended
break.
For this act the sheriff thought that
the fellow who had befTiended the force
should receive leniency and he talked the
matter over with the district attorney
who was of the same opinion. The ad-
ditiOnal charges were dismissed and ht
was allowed to plead guilty to charge
of attempt to commit burglary in the sec
ond degree
Judge Howell made the following state
ment in passing sentence:
7 will say in this case that It has
been represented to me that the defen-
QaHI Is NOT a real criminal anu tlldt iitE
committed offense is probably the first
offense of the kind he ever committed,
and It has been further represented to
me by the district attorney and the COun-
tv sheriff that he has aided the Officers
since his arrest and incarceration in the
county Jail, from the fact that he in
formed the officers of the presence there
of a gun in the possession of other pris-
oners, which might have resulted in the
death of some of the officers, and fol
that reason l have been asked to i'm
pose a very light penalty upon the de-
PENDANT. I have yielded to these repre-
sensations and the sentence of the court
will be that the defendant be imprisoned
in the state prison for the term of ten
months"
The prisoner Quinn was recently found
guilty after a jury trial of burglary in
the second degree and will be sentenced
this week.