The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-15
ADMITS COMPLETELY
IN F0RD'S MURDER
Continued from PAGE


against him in addition to what has
been told by Owen.
At an early hour this morning the
police were still looking for Sullivan.
Closely following the death of Po-
lceman Charles s. Ford at St. Mark s
hospital yesterday afternoon from the
pistol wound inflicted by a murderOus
| highwayman, the police made three ar
rests on information obtained from q
confession made by John Owen, the
man who was captured an hour after
the attack was made upon the police
man.
/ The three persons taken into custody
were Tip Belcher, his wife, Mrs. Sa-
die Belcher, and Jack McGibbon. Bel
cher is bartender at the Jubilee saloon,
\ 26 Commercial street, and McGibbon
was at one time employed there. Bel
cher and McGibbon are suspected of
having had something TO do with the
planning of the robbery which ended
| in murder.
Owen was caught in Fifth North
street, as he was running toward the
/ Oregon Short Line railroad yards. He
was covered with mud after his wild
dash through the streets and was al
most out of breath.
/ From the first the police were con-
WINGED that the man was one of the
| highwaymen who held up the Albany
saloon at Fifth West and Second South
streets, and that he while escaping
! fired the shot which caused Policeman
Ford's death.
Planned by Sullivan.
owen at first denied that he had Ia
ken a hand in the Albany hold-up. but
| at last weakened and confessed that
/ he was present in the Jubilee saloon in
/ Commercial street when the job was
planned by Joseph Sullivan, a con-
Wet who was released from the peni-
! Tertiary on Monday, and another man.
| While these two men were in the Al
bany saloon, Owen stood outside. When
! the robbers emerged from the Albany
/ and the shooting commenced. Owen
says that he ran eastward on Second
South and then turned northward,
thinking to reach the Oregon Short
Line yards, where he expected TO board
freight train and escape out of the
city.
In his confession, Owen is said to
| have mentioned Belcher and McGib-
! bon.
The two bartenders lived at the old
Heber KimbaH residence, $50 North
Main street. There, according to
owens story, the highwaymen were
| to meet during the afternoon, Police
men and deputy sheriffs surrounded
| the house during the afternoon. Bel
cher. his wife and McGibbon were ia
ken into custody. But Sullivan and
/ the man who was with him could not
be found.
| A. j. Radebaugh, who lives in the
Kimball house, informed the police that
/ when he left the place about l O'Clock
/ yesterday afternoon he saw man in
the yard who closely answered to the
/ descriptions of Sullivan.
/ According to owens confession. Sui
| Ivan was the man who fred the shot
that killed Policeman Ford.
Confession Given in Detail.
! Owens confession, it is said. was
given in great detail. He began with
the story of his meeting with Sullivan
soon after the convict's release on
Monday from the state penitentiary af-
I ter serving a sentence of five years for
highway robbery committed in Ogden.
/ Owen had come to Salt Lake from
Lynn, Utah, where he said he had been
employed as a switchman on the Salt
Lake Route. He talked with Sullivan
+ of going forth at night as hOld-up men
| in the Jubilee saloon and claimed that
/ someone there furnished them with
/ revolvers.
| He admitted that he was with Sui
! Ivan on Tuesday night at the old Con-
( tinental saloon and said that an at
I tempt was made TO rob Pete Peterson
the man who was found in the rear of
the place bleeding from a wound upon
his head That wound was inflicted,
he claimed, by Sullivan.
The two men were taken into Gus
/ tody a short time after Peterson was
! found wounded at the Continental sa-
] loon while they were walking in Com
mercial street. Both were armed with
revolvers and one of the weapons was
stained with fresh blood. 1t had also
! been discharged within a few minutes
/ before the two men were seized.
Peterson was charged with drunk
enness, the police concluding that he
! had fallen down and injured himself
At the time the man was under the
/ influence of liquor. When he became
sober he told the police that he had
gone to the rear of the saloon to sit
down and that TWO men had attacked
and attempted to rob him. He was not
able to identify Sullivan and Owen as
his assailants, although other persons
I'm the saloon stated that the men had
been seen hanging about the Continen-
tai.
Time TO Leave Town."
saturday morning sullivan ana owen
were given "foaters' by Judge Diehl,
the police having failed to secure suf-
ficient evidence TO connect them with
the attack upon Peterson.
They did not leave Salt Lake, how
ever. After lodging through the city
TO escape the vigilance of the police
and deputy sheriffs, they made their
way back to Commercial street. and,
according to Owen. secured new wea-
pOns.
When the hOld-up at the Albany bar
was planned in the Jubilee saloon,
owen said, it was agreed that the BAN
dts were TO meet in the afternoon at
Belcher's room IN the old Kimball
house. owen described the man who
accompanied Sullivan as being swarthy
and apparently of negro blood.
AS soon as the police obtained this
information. a number of patrOlmen
headed by Chief Pitt and Captain Bur-
bidge went to the rendezvous and sur
rounded it. When all exits were closed
Belcher's room was entered. He was
found there with his wife and Nc
Gibbon. These were taken into GUS
tOdy.
The police desired to search a trunk
and two suit cases which were found in
the room. AS these were locked, Mrs
Belcher was asked to open them. She
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