The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-07-02
Mysterious Burglar lnvades the
House Where w. H. Parent
Has His Abode.
ADOPTS AN ALIAS AND
NVADES DECENT PLACE
Dark-Lantern PrOWler is Dis
covered While He is a
Tenant There.

where w. II. Parent. confidence man
and protcge of the Mormonizcd county
administration has been rooming with
his wife under the name of Evans, to-
gether with a discovery of Parent s
identity. caused that person and his
helpmcct TO be elected summarily from
the place in question. They have been
forced TO sock new quarters. The house
from which he and his wife were
bounced is n roomng house at l3l
South Second West street, near the
county jail. 1t is kept by Mr.. and
Mrs. b. b. Ferris.
Parent and mis- wife took rooms
on the second floor of the place under
their aliases about a month ago There
are about seven roomers in tho house,
among them a Greek padrone, who is
rather plentiful of money and not
averse TO displaying it, Nothing sus-
picious happened until last Tuesday
morning about 3 O'Clock. Mr.. and
Mrs. Ferris were sleeping in small
room on the ground floor with their door
slightly alar, when Mrs. Ferris was dis
turbed by hearing some ono try the
knob of the front room downstairs,
That room is occupied by woman
lodger.
a moment later Mrs. Ferris heard the
tried Meanwhile wbisperings were
heard, apparently coming from upstairs
TO the person moving about in the hall
downstairs, and the hall lights were
turned ont.
Dark Lanter Is Flashed.
Nothing transpired for few mo-
ments. and then the door of Mrs
Ferris s room was pushed open and
the bulb of a dark lantern was pressed,
throwing a light into the room. By
that time Mrs Ferris had her hand
on the electric light switch, and Just
as the dark lantern flashed she turned
on the lights in her room. The man at
the door slammed it suddenly, and Mrs
Ferris g view Of the man was obscurred
She dIdp t get o good look at him.
Jumping up in her nightdress, Mrs.
Ferris ran out into the hall, turned
on the lights there. opened the front
door. and turned on the porch light.
Nobody was in sight, nor could anyone
be heard running or walking away.
Just then there came voice up
stairs-the voice of Mrs. Merrill, Il
roomer in the house,
'They came UPSTAIRS declared Mrs
Merrill. referring 10 the burglar or
burglars Mrs. Ferris was pursuing
By this time Mr., Ferris and his wife
were on their way upstairs. a care
full search was made of the upstairs
portion of the house, but there was no
sign of any intruders, although Mrs
Merrill is satisfied she heard somebody
come lightly up the stairs Just before
| Mrs. Ferris started in pursuit Of the
man who had invaded her room.
When Mr., and Mrs. Ferris got up
stairs the Parents were up and ap-
parently Joined in the search for the
burglar
Mrs. Merrills Door Tried.
Mrs. Merrill says that before the
excitement started her door was tried
and that she heard Two people-she will
or two mountaineering at her door.
An effort was also made, she declares,
to push her key out
Before this incident happened people
at the Ferris house had seen Parent,
who went at the house by the name
of Evans, hanging around in the county
jail yard during the day time, and there
was some suspicion already that Evans
was really Parent. After the inva-
sion of the burglar, however, Mr., and
Mrs. Ferris assured themselves of the
identity of the dodgers, and told them
| TO vacate.
"My other dodgers are complaining
! and will leave if you do not ex.
| planned Mrs. Ferris to Mrs, ''Evans. "
"Wby, they don 7 think Will was
mixed up in that, that business the other s
"Evans." Up to that time Mrs. Fer
ris had not intimated to Mrs. Evans"
her suspicion of "Evans 50 connection
with the attempted burglary, and Mrs.
"Evans' herself volunteered the ques-
| ton.
Made Friends With Greek,
From what people in the house say,
Parent had taken some pains to cul.
tiyate the Greek padrone-the man of
of the burglary. They sat together
on the porch one night drinking beer,
and Parent explained to the Greek
that at one time-date unknown-he
had paid 500 week in Salt Lake for
protection for gambling games.
The business of Evans was a mat
| ter of some mystery around the Ferris
Ferris asked Mrs. evans what her
husband s business was, and the reply
was: " am sorry to say he is a
gambler.
Parent himself testified in the last
preliminary examination of Chief of
Police Sheets that he made a business
of getting money from men any way
out Of it. He drew the line. he said,
at robbery, theft or strong-arm -
| work.
No Longer at Jail.
1t is impossible to learn Just when
| Parent was released from the county
| Jail He testified in the Donaldson case
yesterday that he was still in custody,
but this is disproved by the fact that
he has been rooming with his wife at
the Ferris place for about a month. He
was ordered released from Jail on his
own recognizance by City Judge j..
j. Whitaker several months ago. Sheriff
Emery, however, disregarded the order
of tho court and insisted on Parent s
remaining In jail.
IT is said, however. that Parent was
released shortly after W. w. Bell, his
admitted partner in the bunko business
and fellow protege of the Sheriff and
| County Attorney, was brought back
from Kansas City under arrest. Par
rent, it is said was set apart as a mis-
sionary to convert Bell to the beauties
| 80 fnc Il ,to,, ne