The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1914-08-20
Two Lads Admit Theft Of Groceries
from Kicker and Implicated
Man in the Deal as
Purchaser
STOLEN GOODS
ARE RECOVERED
City and County Sleuths Ferret
Out Case Accused Man De-
nies Connection with the
Crime

Bill McCandless, Berl Hamilton and
Jim Cothran are in the Grady county
jail as a result of the efforts of the
city and county offials working on the
Kicker robbery. The goods are recoy-
cred and McCandless and Hamilton
both boys, have told the story of how
they robbed the store and sold the
stuff to Cothran, the chain now being
complete and checked off, link by link,
until the truth of their statements is
firmly established.
The downfall of the trio seems to
have been in the fact that the boys
were too anxious to make a good
nights work of it, and therefore were
late in returning a horse and buggy
which they had borrowed" for the
occasion and were caught at the peep
Of day as they we're unhitching the
animal.
The confessed burglars were picked
up separately yesterday, and the third
party, Cothran, was arrested last
night. They have been kept apart
ever since. and have had no chance to
frame up their story. McCandless was
arrested yesterday evening in the
bathing pool at Shanoan Springs.
When landed in jail. he 'coughed up"
all he knew Of the affair. Hamilton
who has been previously arrested,
stated that he knew nothing of the af-
fair, but this morning told the story
in detail, corroborating that of Me
Candless. Cothran stands pat, ercept
that he admits that he purchased the
stuff from the boys, but places the
hour at o'clock yesterday morning.
The story told by McCandless and
later corroborated in practically every
detail by Hamilton, is substantially as
follows They went to the home of
Robert Prince about midnight Monday
night, took his horse and buggy from
the stable and proceeded to Ricker's
grocery. They then broke out the
glass in the door, after which they
drove down the street several blocks
and waited to see il the noise had at
tracted any ones attention. Return
ing they entered the store, loaded
the buggy with groceries and canned
goods and drove away.
They then proceeded to the north
west part of the city, near the feed
pens, where they planted the goods.
Returning to the home of Cothran on
Pennsylvania avenue, they called him
! from bed and the trio returned to
where the stuff was hidden. The boys
said Cothran picked out what of the
groceries he wanted and paid them
| $5 He expressed a desire for some
| lard, hams or bacon, it is alleged, and
asked them if they could get any Of
those articles, or had any they could
sell him. They replied that they could
supply him and returned to the store,
procuring some bacon and several
buckets of lard. These they delivered
to his residence and he paid them 50
more, making total of 81. This
amount they divided
Cothran had a searchlight which
they took to inspect the groceries
The boys wanted to take the light
back to the store with them, but Goth
ran refused. saying they might get
caught, in which event the light might
be used as evidence against him. The
latter statement was that of McCand
less. Hamilton said they had the
light where the groceries were hid
den, but that he did not remember
that McCandless asked to take it bach
to the store
Both boys stated that Cothran knew
beyond the shadow Of doubt that the
stuff had been stolen, though they die
not tell him, but McCandless pointed
to Cothran's statement concerning this
light as evidence that he did know the
goods were wet
Their second trip to the store re
suited in their delay in returning tn,
horse and buggy and as they were II