Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-11
LIGHTLY CLAD,
MAKES ESCAPE
COUNTY HOSPITAL PRISONER
GETS AWAY
LEAVES IN SUIT OF OVERALLS
AND SLIPPERS
Former Merchant of Santa Ana, Al
legged to Be Swndler, Feigns lie
ness and EIudes Vigilance
of Attendants

Clad only in a suit of overalls and
wearing a pair Of light slippers, Will
liam Davis, alias George f. Davis,
alias II. j. Thatcher, formerly pro-
prietor of general merchandise store
at Santa Ana, who was arrested at
Cincinnati in August on charge of
! defrauding local merchants out of sew
eral thousand dollars worth of goods,
and who was brought back to this
city May 81 1909, escaped from ward
A 2 at the county hospital early yes
| terday morning.
! Davis conducted a store at Santa
| Ana in March, 1908. At that time he
is alleged to have obtained goods from
a number of Los Angeles merchants
by representing his stock to be worth
$4,000, with but an Indebtedness Of
$1,000. He obtained credit without diff
| ficulty and soon after making extensive
purchases is said to have closed out
his business and to have left the
country.
When the creditors learned of the
disappearance of Davis they took the
matter up with the Los Angeles Credit
Mems association and detectives were
engaged on the case. After a search
of several months Davis was located
at Cincinnati and arrested on a war
! rant SWOTn TO ny JOHH W. dolueiiij
charging the fugitive with defrauding
the Cooper, Coate & Casey Dry Goods
company out of goods valued at $500.
Detective Goes East
Detective James Hosick of the Los
Angeles police department left for the
east within several days after the ap-
prehension of Davis, but because of
some legal tangle the prisoner was
turned over to a detective from New
Albany, Ind.
Soon after his arrest Davis became
i'll and was attended by a physician
almost constantly during his incarcera-
tion in the New Albany Jail, Finally,
the charges against him there were
dismissed and Detective Hosick made
a second trip and brought back the
prisoner.
The prisoner was seriously i'll on his
trip back to Los Angeles and 1t was
necessary several times to obtain the
services of a physician. Mrs Davis
and her young child were in New AL
bany and wanted to come west with
Davis, but was almost penniless and
unable to pay railroad fare. To enable
her to be near her husband Detective
Hosick purchased a ticket and paid
her expenses to this city.
On his arrival in Los Angeles Davis
appeared to be in a serious condition
and was taken in an ambulance to the
receiving hospital, where the police sur
geons said he was suffering from
| asthma, tuberculosis and a combina-
tion of ailments.
Taken to Hospital
Because of his condition Davis was
not arraigned in police court, but re-
moved to the county hospital and
placed in the prison ward which is in
the charge of Deputy Sheriffs Hutch!n-
son and Hubbard. Here Davis was kept
under close surveillance and was Sc
cured by a bali and chain attached to
his leg. Within the last few days his
condition seemed to be improved and a
closer watch was kept over him.
Friday evening he complained of feel
ing i'll and seemed to be in a serious
condition. The ball and chain were
taken from his leg and he was removed
from the prison into ward A 2, where
there are forty other patients. A nurse
is constantly on duty in this ward but
because of the apparently serious con-
dition of Davis close watch was not
kept over him.
Some time early yesterday morning
Davis arose from his bed, donned a suit
of overalls he found hanging nearby,
and placing on a pair of light slippers
slipped out of the room unobserved.
Later the nurse discovered Davis was
missing and made thorough search or
the place, but without result. The
police were notified, and detectives be-
gan Investigations.
Police Chagrined
At first it was thought Davis had ac-
completes on the outside and had been
taken away in an automobile, but an
investigation failed to substantiate this
theory.
Although the man practically was in
the care of the county authorities, as
the warrant against Davis was placed
in the hands of the deputy sheriffs on
duty at the county hospital, the police
are considerably chagrined over the
affair." because of the fact that it cost
the department almost $1,000 to bring
back the fugitive to California.
Mrs. Davis and her child are still in
Los Angeles, but inquiries at her home
fail to result in any clew that would
lead to the capture of Davis.