The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-10-31
BOY CHOIR SINGER A BURGLAR.
Has Sweet Smile and Long Record
of Crime.

Oh
A Well-dressed boy, says a New
York special, with bright, honest
face, sauntered through Woodbine
street, Brooklyn, last evening and at
Central avenue Detective Thomas
J. Cavanaugh, of the Ralph avenue
station, hurried up to him and said:
"Well, Raymond Beck, 1 see you
are back at your old tricks again.
How many burglaries have you COM
mited since you escaped from the
Juvenile Protectory at Dobbs Ferry,
October 1872"
The boy laughed and remarked,
calmly:
80 you've got me again, have
you, Cavanaugh? I'll tell you one
thing. It's we'll for you that you
didn't come on me when I was heel
ed. You'd never have lived to make
another arrest
Cavanaugh Caught the boy and
searched him. 1t has been known for
days that the Brooklyn choir singer.
son of a respectable family, living at
No. 7 Cypress avenue, who turned
burglar year ago, when IA, was
armed.
Boys Amazing Boldness.
The boldness this boy displays in
his burglaries was such that for
months during the summer and fall
of 1911 he puzzled the police. At
night he would play checkers with
his father or mother until bedtime.
Then he would go to his room only
to sneak out later and rob house.
He was captured after robbing the
home of Mrs. Mary Sterns at No. 972
Greene avenue, where he took sew
eral hundred dollars worth of jew
elry and cash, and two theater tick
cts.
He used these theater tickets and
his arrest resulted. He then con-
fessed to twenty or more robberies.
That Raymond Beck, 'the sweet
faced boy singer as he was called,
was the burglar who so puzzled the
police was not believed until he con-
fessed. First he was sent to the juve-
nile asylum at Chauncey, N. Y, but
it could not hold him, so cunning
was he, ard he escaped from there
March 16. He was captured and
sent to the Juvenile Protectory at
Dobbs Ferry. -.
AS soon as he escaped from there
a series of puzzling robberies began.
Monday afternoon Mrs. Stern's home
was robbed again, the thief using
the exact methods used in the rob-
berry year ago. She went to Capt.
Kuhne at the Ralph avenue, station
and said: 'If that Beck boy were
not in the protectory I would say he
committed this second robbery" I
But he isn't in the protectory.
He has escaped
Robs More Houses. :
The next day Mrs Gertrude Bel
CARDS home, at No. S99 Jefferson
avenue, was robbed of money, jewel.
~ and a revolver. =
A series of robberies were report
ed by the residents of Woodb'ne ave-.
nue.. Two or three houses were en-
tered almost every day, and Cava-
naugh kept watch on that section of
Brooklyn in the hopes of catching
Raymond. :
The boy was taken into Capt.
Kuhne's office and searched and jew
erly belonging to Mrs. Belgard was
found in his pockets.
'tSure, 1 did all those robberies,
Raymond said to Capt. Kuhne, ac-
cording to Kuhne's statement later
'I'd have done a lot more, too, If it
hadn't been for this cop. He turned
the same trick on me year ago and
I'll get him yet. See if don't"
The boy was asked why it was i'm
possible for him to reform. He burst
out laughing and cursed Kuhne and
Cavanaugh for preaching to him.
MOTIF IEET RY SIICIDE