The San Francisco call., 1910-04-05
POLICE SURE OF
EARLY CONFESSION
Chiften Is Man Who Caused the
Reign of Terror, Is Opinion
of Authorities
Drug Store Bandit Believed to
Be Man Held in San Jose
for Murder
Continued From Page /

Continued From Page L
Schneider. clerk Of the Burns hammam
baths, s15 Eddy street, December 4,
last, and the same evening held up
David B. Green in his drug store at
Franklin and Turk streets, looted
few minutes previously the pharmacy of
the Gleason-Courneen drug company at
1882 Market street and repeated his
visit exactly week later. may end on
the gallows criminal career filled with
lawlessness and daring.
1T is seldom that such a series of bold
crimes are crowded into such short
space of time as the field found neces-
sary to make his mark on the police
history OF this city. Beside his other
crimes he was credited with numerous
offenses which circumstances seemed to
assert he committed including the rob-
berry OF the White drug company at
Geary and Fillmore streets and the at
tempted looting of the Charlotte candy
store, 1886 Market street, but one door
removed from the Gleason -Courneen
drug store.
A peculiar feature of the, bandits
work, that earned him the title of ''the
Saturday night fiend," was that his
NiAiACS "CiC COIlUlltlcu On Soet ldi 0dy
evening, and at time when the streets
were crowded with people.
APPEARED DECEMBER
San Francisco was introduced to the
thug through his series of crimes Sat-
urday evening, December 4. It was $3.50
o'clock on that date that he entered the
pharmacy of the Gleason-Courneen
drug company, held up Dr. e. H. Glea-
son at the point of revolver and Sc
cured $50 from the till. Hardly were
the police notified of the outrage when
David B. Green, pharmacist at Frank
lin and Turk streets, informed them
that a robber, who answered in every
detail the description given of the man
who held up Gleason, had entered his
pharmacy also, at 1904 o'clock, and
after attemptin gto loot the till had
been frightened away by the screams
of Mrs. Green. AS he ran from the
store the bandit fired a shot into the
aif.
scene and a moment later phone mes
sage from the Burns hammam baths,
SIS Eddy street, told them that the
f1end had entered there. shot and killed
William H. Schneider, an employe, and
rushed from the place.
CAPTURED, BUT ESCAPES
Two minutes later w. l.. Hawkins, a
traeling salesman, was encountered on
Van Ness avenue near Ellis street,
block from the Burns baths, by the rob-
ber. The thug was waving a revolver
He demanded money from Hawkins,
but the salesman grappled with the
man and succeeded in disarming and
overpowering him. He turned the pris-
oner over to the crowd that collected,
but while te1ephoning for the police
the thug broke away and escaped into
the darkness of a cross street.
The city was in an uproar and police
patrolled the streets, but nothing was
heard of the bandit until the next
Saturday evening
Shortly before 10 o'clock the evening
of December 12 he again entered the
pharmacy of the Gleason-Courneen drug
company. and this time held up DR..
Henry Nolan, securing 5000 Crowds of
citizens and a policeman pursued the
bandit, but he again escaped.
HOLDS UP WOMAN
Three nights later the Charlotte can
dy store, two doors from the Gleason
pharmacy, was entered. The bandit
held up Mrs. Irene Floras at the point
of a revolver, but left without taking
any money.
Two days passed, and he entered the
White drug store, Geary and Fillmore
streets but was frightened away.
Letters by the score began to arrive
at police headquarters and the differ
ent places visited by the fiend, some of
which were traced and proved to be
fakes" from would be jokers or in
sane people. Two were held to be from
the real bandit.
Less than an hour after both visits
to the Gleason-Courneen drug store a
man representing himself to ~be the
bandit called the store by phone and
stated that he would repeat his visit.
He was true to his word after the first
robbery, but the third holdup, although
threatened, did not occur.
NUMEROUS SUSPECTS LANDED
Numerous suspects were landed in
taiI by the police, for the squads out
searching brought in all suspicious
characters answering in any respect to
the descriptions given of the thug. At
ter several false scents had been fol-
lowed it was decided that Walter r.
Carroll, former policeman who had
resigned from the force, was the bandit,
but Carroll was found, after a search, |
dead in the morgue at San Jose. He had
committed suicide beneath the wheels
of q train near the Garden City. Sew
eral of the drug store fiend's victims
visited San Jose and looked at the body |
and opinions differed as to whether or
not he was the man. Finally 1T was
shown that Carroll was working far in
the mountains of Santa Clara county |
while the bandit was busy here.
For two months the hunt for the ban
dit Jagged until this latest San Jose |
clew was unearthed and followed so
successfully.