The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-02-13
TWO SOLDIERS FACE
ROBBERY CHARGES
Caught Armed as They Were
Leaving Room They Had
RansaCked.

For the first time in many months
formal charges of robbery in the first
degree were entered yesterday by the
police, the accused being a soldier from
Schofield Barracks named West, and
w. F.. Scott private from Fort
Shafter. The charge carries maxi
mum sentence, following conviction, of
twenty years at hard labor.
Both West and Scott, according to
the charges against them by Chief Nc
Dufiie, were caught as they were coming
from the room in the Delmomco room
ing house, in which the mother of the
proprietor, Mrs. Scully, was asleep,
West was caught by Carl X. Daub,
bookkeeper of Lord & Young, but Scott
escaped, to be caught later by Captain
of Police Charles X. Baker.
The robbery was pulled off Sunday
night at half-past eleven O'Clock,
shortly after which the police received
cali from the Delmonico and upon
arriving, found West in the custody of
Daub. The circumstances were related
and West was locked up, the case being
| turned over to Chief McDutfie yester.
day morning.
The two men, it is claimed, entered
the room, while Mrs. Scully's mother
was asleep, and managed to get out
without disturbing her, after rummag-
ing the entire place. They took a
quantity of clothes and the keys to
the bureau drawers where money was
kept, but were scared off by a noise
before they had chance to get that
far.
Holds Open Knife.
A Mrs. Carpenter saw them come out
of the room, West holding an opened
clasp knife in his hand. The presence
of this knife in the affair makes the
crime that of robbery in the first de-
gree, the law requiring the robber to
have been Extensively armed.
When Daub stopped the two men
shortly after they had left the room,
and demanded their business, West re-
piled that they were United States
soldiers and could go anywhere and do
anything they wanted to do. Daub did
not wait for any other explanations but
with another ledger seized West, Scott
escaping in the confusion.
Chief McDufiie Intercepted West
yesterday in an attempt to get his
partners name and was unexpectedly
successful Captain Baker was present
at the time and when West mentioned
"Scotty' exclaimed, "Why, l have {
soldier named Scott downstairs!
"Bring him up said the chief
"and let IS talk to him.
'Scotty'' Laughs.
When Scott and West were brough
together, both men burst out laughing
and after short conversation, one o
them exclaimed, "Well, l guess we r.
up against it. 1t looks like a five spo
for ours.
Scott had been caught by Captain
, Baker crossing the flats at Iwilei wit
suspicious bundle under his arm. III
was arrested on suspicion, but with NJ
; knowledge that he was participant II
the Delmonico affair the night before.
Scott has house at Iwilei which h
makes his headquarters, it is thought
while on liberty. He is also said b,
the police to have confded to West tina
: he intedned to desert on the first Brit
ish liner that came in headed for Aus
tralia.
Another little clue that has helpe
cinch the case is the presence of bloc
spots in a number of places about tn
. disturbed room. While West was bein
: questioned yesterday, the chief notice
q that one of his fingers had been r,
Gently cut and asked him how he ha
y done it. West said he did not know
s The chief then showed him the knit
;, that had been taken from him whe
l. Daub seized him.
n eyes, he said, "that's my knit
L / must have cut myself on that"
y The case was completed yesterday {
O. noon.