Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-09-20
DIME NOVELS
CAUSED RUIN
Police Say Jesse jamss
Stories influenced Career
of Robert Stakaway.
NOW In COUNTY JAIL

teFday, ended for a time at least, the
remarkable career of Robert Staka-
way, a youth influenced by Jesse
James novels to deeds that a man OF
mature years would hesitate to com.
init, even had the persuasion beer
many times greater. Stories oi
wealth gained in a minute. a fortune
made in a single escapade, the con
slant excitement of eluding the po.
lice, all led the bandit gang to com
NIT crimes, each more serious thar
the other, until at least they were
driven to the use of fire arms to pre-.
vent capture.
Handeuffed between Detective Ser.
geant John Huff and Patrolman vii.
liam Hartmann, the bandit leader
was transported to the county jail
yesterday afternoon in Thomas F,
Burke's automobile. He seemed
anxious to leave the local jail. AS
he felt the cold steel encircle his
wrists with a snap, Stakaway smiled
and Ventured the remark that beds
in the county Jail were more com.
Portable.
Before leaving yesterday after
noon, Stakaway babe every one al
police headquarters a goodbye, and
walked jauntily to the waiting auto
mobile. Outwardly he showed nc
signs of a breakdown, although his
eyes openly announced that he had
been crying. They were red and
slightly swollen, mayhap from sleep
less nights spent in brooding over
the outcome Of the case against him,
- Hn Snnk1 1ift1N ~ E,a - Al
county Jail. He arrived there about
z o'clock and was Immediately taken
to a cell. He wore no coat, that
garment having been taken from
him when arrested to be used as evi,
dence of his alleged robbery of w. &
A. Fines clothing store, in State
street.
Yesterday vas Stakaway's second
trip to the jail at the county seat,
Less h two years ago he was
committed from here on a charge of
highway robbery. for which he was
sentenced to the State Reformatory
at Railway. He is now on parole
from that institution.
Stakaway has not always been un-
der the surveillance of the police,
He came of an apparently good fam
lily, and at n time was an attentive,
II not deyout member of a Sunday
school class. Only yesterday his
former minister and Sunday school
teacher, Rev. DR.. Jacob Ganss, pas
tor of st. Paul's German Lutheran
church, visited him in his cell at po-
lice headquarters and knelt with him
in prayer.
When he "a about eighteen years
old-he was twenty-five last May
Stakaway began reading dime nov
els. SO great a hold did they secure
on him that he was drawn towards
following out the career of Jesse
James, that notorious bandit of the
middle West, and when he reached
the age OF twenty, he entered in fell
lowship with a man named Dexter,
and a negro. At Dunellen, accord
ing to the police, he committed the
first crime that started his now long
list.
The three held up and robbed a
later the police of Highland Park
captured the negro; and Stakaway
and Dexter were taken here. Stalk
away served fourteen months in the
~reformatory, and was released on pa
role this spring.
For a few months he behaved.
Then one night. with two or three
other members of his gang, he en-
tered and robbed a freight car on
the Central railroad. That was in
July. On August 2, last, Fines
clothing store was broken into and
robbed of clothing to the extent of
about $500.
T After a few smaller jobs, the
band is alleged to have entered and
robbed the clothing store Of Chris
christensen, in Main street, Wood
bridge. Then they broke into a Cen
trail railroad car at East Railway.
Then Stakaway is said to have at
tempted to take the life of a railroad
detective, who a few days after To-
Gated him in South Amboy. Then
David Encheman's grocery store, in
State street, was entered and about
$125 in groceries stolen. But the
climax came the same day as the
latter burglary, when Frank Zim-
norman, a New Brunswick peddler,
was found cut and bleeding on the
Amboy-Metuchen road by William A.
Spencer, relieved by the gang of
about si0O.
That night-last Wednesday-the
police went out in the North Amboy
woods and captured Stakaway. Two
other members of his gang escaped
under cover of a pistol fight. They
are still at large and being sought
by the police.
In the pistol battle, Stakaway
aimed several times at Patrolman
Gutowski, but none of the shots took
effect. Probably because the bullets
were roughly sharpened and the
fat sides DETECTED their curse. The
patrolman will appear before the
grand jury in all probability, to
press the charge.
Stakaway, when not in jail or hid
ing in the woods, resides in Lawton
place. His name Is not Stakaway,
but ~Stegueveit. The former appel
alton, however, is the one commonly
used.
The September grand jury con-
venes today for the first time. Stalk
Always case will in all probability be
heard within the next two weeks.
New Doctor OpeBs Office.