The San Francisco call., 1910-08-13
TWO BOYS JAILED
As HOLDUP Men
Berkeley Pair Said to Have
Confessed Series of Crimes
That Bafhed Police

BERKELEY, Aug. IA two weeks
series OF escapades with pistol and
dagger in the hands Of 2 gang of
youthful desperadoes was ended by the
police today with the arrest Of Nicholas
h2UInlann, Is year old schoolboy,
son OF rich Guatemala planter, and
Jesus Gonzales, aged 10, and the de-
tention Of Bryant Kirk, l6 year old
schoolboy and son OF DR.. A. ". Kirk,
VINO has Offices in the MonadnOck build
ing. san Francisco
All the devices Of the full ncdged
1IgnW3yman were used by the boys,
who met in the barn OF the Kirk home
In Francisco street and there read dime
novels, composed cryptosrams and other
secret writings and planned the deeds
which have baffled the police Of this
city and Oakland.
According TO tie confessions Of kaum
mann and Gonzales backed by the as
sertiOns Of Kirk. the two boys under
arrest have committed no less than four
holdUps in this city and IN Oakland dur
Ing the last TWO weeks.
The boy bandits worked without the
aid Of masks and took no precautions
against detection, except, as Kaufman
admitted, that they didn't get near
an arc light" Gonzales generally held
the revolver, borrowed from the. Kirk
boy, at the head of the victim, while
Kaufman, with drawn hunting knife
held alOft searched the pedestrian.
The efforts OF Bert Bohlender. high
school boy who was held up by the pair,
led TO their capture. He recognized
Kaufman as d boy he had seen before
Rnd hunted Berkeley for him for sew
eral days without success. Last night
he located young Kaufman coming
from a moving picture show in Shat
frrrIr az +rf,I ,IrV. ay,l
notified the police.
The career of crime had its beginning
when four boys met in the Kirk barn,
1927 Francisco street, several months
ago. All have been students at the
Whittier school
Plans were carefully laid for the
boys TO run away from their school
books and their homes, but the money
necessary for the journey seemed to be
the stumbling block. About that time
Kaufman met Gonzales, Mexican
laborer employed in wood chopping at
the Thousand oaks, north of here.
They were drawn together by their
common tongue. Spanish. and the new
conner was enrolled as member Of the
club"
The membership then comprised Kauff-
mann, Gonzales, Donald Wood. VIII
liam Connolly and Bryant Kirk. Wood
and Connolly seemed not TO be in good
LdADE Win LliE OklEE members OF lnG
boys band and were not let in on the
secrets of the holdups. Connolly was
finally told that he was not wanted for
the trip to Mexico and wealth and was
banished from the organization.
Kaufman and Gonzales, with revolver
and dagger, lay ia wait at the top of
the Scenic street hill on the evening of
July 80 and waylaid Ben Takashashi.
servant in the home of H. Parenwalt.
1894 Ia MAS
held Up and told that single move
would mean his death. The pair got
$3.50 from their victim.
Two days later an unknown japanese
was held up at the corner of Fulton
street and Durant avenue and s1.I5 was
taken from him. This time Kaufman
held the revolver and his companion
the knife.
Bert Bohlender, a high school boy of
2225 Blake street, was walking toward
his home on the night Of August 3, and
at Milvia and Virginia streets the pair
Jumped out from behind a tree and or
sered Bohlender TO throw up. his hands.
BohIender had left all his money at
home and the bandits got nothing.
Their victim, however, got a good look
al Kaufman
Their only successful Oakland crime
took place in Fifty-seventh street,
when James r. Riley, SOC Aileen street.
vas neld up at the point OF a revolver
and robbed of 81. The boys, as was
.heir custom. ran in opposite directions
after the robbery.
Other evenings, according to Kirk,
10 whom they confided their crimes,
were spent in attempting to hold up
residents Of Oakland living on the
shores Of Lake Merritt. They were un-
successful, however, although they ad-
mitted following a number of men for
blocks to get an opportunity for rob-
berry
Both Kaufman and Gonzales, who