Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-26
CAR BREAKERS
Are CAPTURED
SUPPOSED PERPETRAToRS OF A
SYSTEM OF RoBBERlEs NOW
IN JAIL.
HARMED is ARRESTED
Local Grocer Faces Serious Charge
Accused of ConceaIing Stolen
Goods to Amount of $500
Hearing Wednesday.

The arrest yesterday of Ed Harmed,
James Terrill, Loyal Bryant and I'D.
Heastrup, is thought by the police to
explain the systematic robberies from
trains and cars of the Milwaukee road
that has been going on since the first
of the new year. The former pleads
not guilty, while the trio waive to the
grand jury
These robberies have been so fire.
quent and the scheme of their carry
ing out SO well organized that it has
taxed the ingenuity of the railroad
company's special police to apprehend
the thieves A constant and organized
effort has been going on by the special
officers of the railroad and the local
police since the robberies began, but
without any results, SO well planned
was the scheme of the perpetrators.
The articles taken from time to time
were varied in nature being chiefly gro
ceries, but not confined to that class
of goods Shoes, calico, meat and
other articles of merchandise were al
so taken by the thieves. The robberies
were not confined to cars lying in the
yards awaiting shipment, but even
when the trains were in transit, cars
were pilfered and the goods gathered
in a wagon and taken to a hiding
place. Recently special officers of the
road patroled the yards in the West
End. crawled beneath the numerous
trains and watched every car contain
ing merchandise until after 5 o'clock
in the morning without seeing any
trace of the perpetrators. Within all
hour after the officers left the yards,
train that lay Xxi waiting for the
north was rifed and a quantity of
goods stolen without trace of the
thieves anywhere about the yards.
Three Waive to Grand Jury.
| When appearing in police court this
morning and confronted by wagon
load Of the stolen goods taken from
the Harmed store 546 West Main street
James Terrill Loyal Bryant and Ed
Heastrup waived to the grand jury.
They admitted to Chief Gallagher that
Bryant and Heastrup mad frequently
worked together pilfering cars, ana
that Bryant and Terrill had worked
together twice breaking into and steal
ing from the cars. Bryant is SON
in-law to Terrll The trio are charged
with breaking and entering and are
| held in the county jail to await the
action of the grand jury.
Harmed Pleads Not Guilty.
An information charging Ed Harmed,
a grocer at 546 West Main street, with
concealing stolen goods to the value
of 5000, was filed in Justice G. B.
Melick's court by Special Agent John
Wernick who with Agent King, both
of Special Agent J. A. Hinsey's Office
| in Chicago, has been working on tn!
case for the past few weeks assisting
their Ottumwa special agent, J. Bauer
Harmed appeared in court and entered
plea of not guilty. His bond was
fixed at $1,000 and he was remanded to
| Jail to await the hearing of the case
ton in both police and justice courts
stated that articles of merchandise was
taken from cars Of the G. NJ. ID st. p.
railway Jan. q and 80, although it is
stated by the railway officers that the
robberies have been in progress since
the first Of the new year. The articles
| found at the Harmed store and taken
to the police court comprised varying
| quantities of shoes, dry goods, pork
| tenderloins, bacon, canned goods, Oys
tiers, flour, tobacco lard, cheese sweet
potatoes and sugar. The amount of
merchandise made wagon load 1t
is alleged that the work was ac-
complished by the trio with one of
the number driving close to the train
or cars broken into and would gather
the stuff in the wagon and take it to
the place of concealment, which the
II officials claim was the Harmed store