The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-05-04
Breaks Through Iron-Barred Window.
Climbs Through Sky
light and
Fled.
HAD OUTSIDE HELP?
Police Believe Some One From the
Outside Assisted Him
Charged With
Larceny.

Richard Williams, % year old ne
lgro, who was being held in the city
Jail charged with larceny of goods
amounting to $3.50 from Rays livery
barn, broke out of jail shortly after l
o'clock this afternoon and made his
escape. The police are keeping a
close watch for him and hope to re-
capture him before he gets out of
the city.
Williams method Of escape was
daring and sensational. It is believed
that some one on the outside assist
ed him in getting out Of the main
cell on the ground floor where he was
lincarcerated. Between this cell and
la toilet room under The stairway in
the police station is small window,
barred with iron on the cell side and
covered with a wooden window on the
lother side Of the toilet room. The
wooden window was fastened with a
bolt lock and nail.
Tore Out iron Bars.
Williams had torn GU. five iron bars
lon the cell side Of the window. Some
one from the outside had evidently
unfastened the bolt on the toilet
room side and Williams forced the
window which was then held by moth
ing but the nail.
He passed from the .oilet room to
the room next to the Office OF the po-
lice station. A stairway leads from
this room to the cell above where
women and children are incarcerated.
Williams had climbed up this stairway
without making any noise and withou.
being detected. Upstairs there was
young colored woman who Is being
held on minor charge. She was not
locked in the cell, the cell door be-
ing unlocked, but was in the hallway
above the stairs. The young woman
saws that when Williams reached the
top OF The stairs he said to her that
IL she made any noise he would Kill
her. She did not say anything until
Williams had completed his escape.
Threatened coIored Woman.
The room in which the women are
locked up has a glass skylight on top.
This skylight is about twenty feet
from the floor. There are some heavy
screen partitions, however. which
reach nearly to The skylight, and VIII
liams managed to climb these to the
top. There he kicked out one OF the
glass windows. crawled out through
the hole on to the roof jumped on
the roof and escaped.
When williams had gotten out OF
the window The young colored woman
screamed and spread the alarm to the
police in the office below. A search
was started at once but the police
were unable to find him up to $3.50
this afternoon.
Williams was arrested Saturday
afternoon by Officer Wilson. He
signed a confession shortly after his
arrest admitting that he had stolen
several sets of harness, phaeton,
three saddles, and some other goods
from Rays livery barn. He told the
police that he had sold ali OF this
stun to A. T. Reinig, proprietor OF
harness store at HOG Main street.
Chief Kennsy had fled an fnforma-
ton against Williams in the superior
conrt charging him with larceny
since he has confessed to having
stolen the goods there was clear
case against him and it seemed posi-
tiy. that he would be given pen1ten-
t;arv sentence. He was to have been
arra,sned in the superior court this
afternoon.