The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-10-21
NOTED CROOK
Convicted and Sent Up For Is
Years in the Pen.
SASsED The JUDGE

Talking Back at His Honor-The
Prisoner Seems to Be a Hardened
Criminal
Samuel K. Williams, alias James ?
Kelly, alias Oakland Sammy, alias
Sam Raymond, yeggman and burglar,
after making we'll planned attempt
TO escape from the Charleston jail on
Tuesday night in the midst Of his
trial in Charleston for carrying bur
glars tools, faced Judge Prince
Wednesday morning IN the court OF
general session, after the jury had
brought in verdict of guilty. and
vas given sentence OF 10 years and
me month at hard labor in the State
oenitentiary.
Sullen and persisting to the last
that his guilt had not been proved
Williams asked Judge Prince ~ his
honor did not give him the limit
while he was about it.
Bring Williams back to the
stand" ordered the Judge, as the
prisoner had stepped down. II au
going to reform your sentence, Will
iams." announced his honor. "I SEN
-ence you to Is years at hard labor
in the State peniteltiary.
Under heavy guard of deputies
Williams slouched back to the pris-
oners' room, apparently eased in
mind about his sentence.
At half-past 5 o'clock Wednesday
morning when Captain Geadick, the
taller, went to pay Williams morn
ing. call he found the cage door and
! the corridor door open. The bir i
had flown. Captain Gradick had
taken every precaution that he could
think Of, warned and taught by en-
perience. Here the yeggman had go,
away, undr his very eyes,
as mysterious as nightfall-
How could the man have escaped
with apparently not a tool to help
him?
Before doing anything else Can
tain Gradick ran down from the west
wing Of the third floor, where Will.
Jams cell was located, to the jasl
ward, to look for traces Of an escap'!
over the high Jail wall. He found
no evidence that the man had scale:l
the wall, and so made a thorough
search Of the lower floor Of the jail
No Williams could be sighted. Ther
the captain returned to the empty
cell of the yeggman to look, fo'
clothes.
Williams had been locked up in :
steel cell within locked steel cage
which opens into a corridor on tn
third floor having heavily barred win
lows and shut OF from the staircase
by sheet iron door always KEEP
locked. Williams had been placed
in cell directly on the corridor
that he might be better watched
from without. To reach the stair
case, where trace of him was los'
| he had to pick heavy Yale lock
This allowed him to raise the leve'
that unlocked the cells in his cage
Then he stepped out into the Gel
corridor within the steel cage. 4
heavy Yale lock secured the cage
door. Williams sawed the three
eight inch ring Of this lock, gettins
at it by thrusting his arm through
the bars. After he had opened tn
cage door, he passed into the cor
pidor and was confronted by the
| heavy iron door that shut off ths
cells from the staircases. This doc,
bears a heavy mortised lock that i:
opened with huge brass key. How
be got through this was a mystery
as well as was his location.
Comforting himself with the de-
duction that Williams, although {
jailbird, could not dy, Captain Grad
ick then proceeded to search in tho
only place where the prisoner coul5
possibly be, namely: the jail loft
| Over the stairway corridor is tral
door which gives entrance into the
! Jail loft above. 1t is come Is fee,
above the floor. There was no lad
der or rope in sight, but Captain
Gradick had it figured out that VIII
Jams must be hiding up IN this dark
and huge loft. Calling to him, a tai
negro trusty named Mink" Captail
Gradick secured a stepladder and Or
dered Mink to mount it and climb
into the loft where, by striking a
match be might see if Williams were
hidden. Calling out that he would
shoot Williams on sight If he made
resistance, Captain Gradick drew his
revolver and sent Mink up the lad
der and into the loft to take the
last chance of nosing Oakland Sammy
out if he were about the jail.
It was tense moment for the
jailer when Mink disappeared into
the loft, and the match was struck
A light faTed up, and then Mink, big
eyed and shaking, stuck his heal
through the trap door and said:
''He is dar, cap'in."
Seeing the jag was up, Williams
Seeing the Jig was up, Williams
came from the recesses of the loft
and said he was caught. He MAJ.
no resistance and slowly backed
down out Of the opening. He had -
hang by his hands to touch the
Istepladder with his feet. Williams
looked glum and bafaed, but was
game. and stated to the captain that
ne had failed to escape because he
did not have time.
After Captain Gradick got Will
Jams again in custody, the prisoner
was placed in another cell, untamp-
cred with and closely guarded, until
1t was time to take him over to the
court room. He is now under al
heavy guard, and will not be un-