Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-05-06
Immediately After Two
Augusta Robberies.
Arrest in WaierVi|Ie Follows a
| Few Hours Later.
Attempted TO Kill His Wife Three
Years Ago by Shooting.

The flight. early Sunday morning. to
Waterville of George Bartlett Lashus,
alias George b. LaChance, night por-
ter at Hotel North, was coincident
with The extraction of a sum of money
from the cash drawer at Hotel North
and the frifing OF the cash register ut
the store of J. Frank Bilodeau The
money in both places was taken dur
ing the early morning hours and it is
believed that Lashus made his get
away on the 3.o9 4. NJ. train. CITY
Marshal Fletcher was notified of his
arrest and he will be brought TO this
city anu arraigned, Monday morning,
upon the charge of breaking an enter
ing and larceny 1t was stated by the
WaterNille officers that he was intox-
Rated and SPEEDING money freely.
when arrested there.
Lashus. who is Il native of Water
Vile, has been employed for about
three weeks at the North and is Il
young man about % years of age. He
does not appear to be entirely right in
his mind and at one time was under
observation at the Maine Insane hos
pital N order To determine his sanity.
He acted very strangely, during the
entire evening. Saturday. and had
armed himself with a revolver and II
cartridge belt He told William II.
Davis, the night clerk at the North,
that he carried the revolver SO as to
protect himself in case anyone came
10 .he hotel in the night and rob the
cash register. Davis took the revolver
from him and emptied out the cart
ridges before returning it to him, re-
marking a s he did SO, If there is any
shooting 10 be done around the place
you had better let me do il, George"
He did rot notice, however. the cart
ridge belt with the extra shells in it.
Later. the clerk went to luncheon. first
taking the precaution 10 lock the
cash drawer, as he had previously seen
Lashus trying TO get into the cigar
case.
When Davis returned he found
Lashus was not about The hotel hut
did not give the matter serious atten-
tion until after the 3.09 train arrived
ana he went to the cash drawer TO
change a bill. Then he found that the
drawer had been pried open and most
of the bills, which had been in il. talk
en-. Search was at once instituted about
the house for the missing man and
while it VAS in progress word WAS re-
ceiveG that a break was also mace
into the store of j. Frank Bilodeau.
the basement of which is connected
with Hotel North. There, the cash reg
ister was broken open, hut the bur
g!ar succeeded only in getting open Il
single drawer, on account of breaking
the mechanism Of the register. The
amount of money taken there was
$l0e5.
The two easements We're thorough
" investigated. The porter's cap and
coat We're found in the basement part
OF the Hotel North and il was also
found that the door between the two
easements had been forced open and
entrance made through a narrow
stairway TO the Bftodeau store. At
ter seeing The discarded garments MIR.
Davis recalled that earlier in the eve
ming, Lashus had gone TO his room for
n bundle, SAYING that he was going
to get something to take to the laun-
dry in the morning, and now believes
that a change of clothes was contain
ed in the bundle.
A local business man Informed a
Journal reporter, Sunday, that he saw
Lashus shortly after Mr. Davis went
To his luncheon, and that he had a
loaded revolver in his hand and talked
about doing mp anybody that tried te
rob the hotel" He said that Lashus
talked very strangely and appeared
to him to be either crazy or under
| the influence of liquor