Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-28
WOMANS TIP
PREVEN7SBIG
BANK ROBBERY
TOLD ON GANG TO SAVE HER
LOVER
PLANS LAID TO ROB HOLLYWOOD
SAFES
Mysterious Visitor and as Re-
suit Four Men and One
Woman Are Arrested


National bank and the Holly
wood postoffice were not blown open
Wednesday night and looted of their
contents of thousands of dollars in
money and valuables is entirely owing
to the work of a volunteer woman de-
tective.
Wednesday afternoonsthe police Off
cials of Los Angeles were informed
that an attempt was to be made that
night by band of five skilled safe
blowers to rob the Hollywood National
bank and the postoffice station at
Hollywood.
In some mysterious manner, it is
said, the information reached the
would-be thieves that there was an
unusually large amount of money in
the vaults of the Hollywood bank, and
that there was also in the safe of
the Hollywood postoffice a large
amount of valuable registered matter.
Whether there was an unusual
amount of wealth stored away in these
vaults that night is unknown. The
gang of robbers believed there was,
however, and made all preparations
to secure it.
Wednesday afternoon a we'll dressed
and refined looking woman appeared
at the police station and secured an
audience with Chief of Police Kern.
The information she had to give was
that a gang of well known thieves
were preparing to commit these two
desperate robberies and in order to
successfully carry out their plans and
get away with the loot were ready to
shoot down any and all persons who
opposed them.
Tells Straight Story
The woman told such straightfor-
ward story that confidence was placed
in her statements and the sheriff's Of
flee and the Pinkerton detective agency
were Informed.
A guard was established over the
bank and postoffice and number of
detectives were placed on the case to
run the guilty parties down.
For some reason which the police
cannot fathom the safe blowers took
alarm and Wednesday night did not
show up for the job.
If they had they would have walked
into the arms of a score of detectives
and policemen heavily armed.
The descriptions of the men were
furnished the police and in addition
to this the woman who gave the in
formation of the intended robbery ac-
companied a detective and pointed out
to him three of the members of the
gang.
Later in the night Patrolmen Green.
Beaumont and Williamson, working in
plain clothes out of Captain Broad
heads office, arrested in a Kohler
street lodging house Ralph McCabe,
r. H. Hall and Charles Brown. All
these men were heavily armed with
the latest pattern of high power auto
matte pistols and each was equipped
with a mask and complete holdup out
fit
Woman Arrested
A fourth man and a young woman
were also arrested by the detectives
and placed in Jail. but their names AMI
any information concerning them was
carefully suppressed by the police fof
the reason that the knowledge of their
arrest would lead to the escape of one
or two other persons who are wanted
in connection with the case.
All the prisoners refused to make any
statement to the police, but to the
woman detective who assisted the
police they are said to have acknowl-
edged having held up and robbed on
Monday night L. N. Woodward, a con-
ductor employed by the Pacific Electric
railway at Tenth street and Central
avenue Woodward was robbed at that
point Monday night by three men, who
relieved him of $40 and a watch.
robber him corresponds to that of three
of the prisoners now in the city Jail.
The prisoners admit they have been
arrested before, but deny there is any
crime against them at the present time.
All yesterday Captain of Detectives
Paul Flammer, with number OF his
men, and Superintendent H. D. Bailey
of the Pinkerton agency and several of
his operatives, worked on the case, and
both Capt. Flammer and Superinten-
dent Bailey personally gave their atten-
ton to the case and went to Arcadia
and Monrovia in an effort to locate the
men.
Police Given Information
The arrest of McCabe, Hall and
Brown at the Kohler residence was
made directly on information furnished
the police by the mysterious woman ue-
tectiye.
She described to the police in the first
place the plan which had been outlined
for the robbery of the Hollywood bank
and postoffice and gave the names and
descriptions of the men concerned in IL,
That she played traitor to the gang
to save from crime a man whom sne
loved and who is the fourth prisoner in
the city Jail tanks was acknowledged
by the woman.
This man, whose name and identity
the police are closely guarding, has
never before been concerned IN
crooked deal and his agreement to go
in with the bank robbers was brought
about by reason of his inability to
secure work and the lure of great
wealth to be easily obtained.
The woman was informed of the case
and she seemingly entered into the
scheme to help the men out AS mat
ter of fact she only pretended to agree
with them in order to obtain informa-
tion which she could supply to the
police and prevent the robbery, thus
saving the man she loved from COM
hitting an offense which would forever
ruin him.
The woman under arrest in connec-
ton with the case is unknown to the
woman aiding the police, and what her
connection with the case is the detec-
tiuas last night refused to state.