The Oskaloosa herald., 1916-06-08
THE THIEF C0NFESSES
Local M & St L Depot Robbed BY
Professional Crook. i'll

, the Vlctlm OF professional burglary,
when robbers entered the ticket Of
fee of the passenger station and ap-
propriated money to the sum of $53 90,
recently. Yesterday the city pas
word from Oakland, Illinois, asking
If the Office had been entered and
money stolen. The letter was fol
lowed by news dispatch from
Charleston, Illinois, telling of the ar
rest of one, Jerry P. Wright, who con-
fessed to many robberies, including
the differing of the Oskaloosa station.
Word was Immediately wired to the
general NJ. & st. L. offices at Min
neapolis telling of the arrest and con-
fession and to Charleston.
/ The letter received reads:
Oakland, H., June 5th, 1915.
! Gentlemen
/ Was Oskaloosa, Iowa on NJ. & ST.
L. robbed $3.50. Agent at Dispatch
ers Office?
Was Bernie, Mo-, robbed book NJ
O., hand bag, and whiskey?
Was Milligan, Tenn. on III, C. rob-
bed 5000, whiskey, clothes, twice?
Z Was Henning Tenn on III c. robbed
monev, clothes. & whiskey times?
Was Atoka Tenn. on Ill. c. robbed
. cases whiskey, or suits clothes?
Was Dyersburg, on ILL., c. robbed 3
barrels whiskey?
Was Halls, Tenn on III. c. robbed
$4,000 money, cases whiskey and
8 suits clothes?
]. P. After,
Agent Van Della r. R.
Oakland, Ill.
The news dispatch follows
Charleston. ILL.,, June 6-Enumerat-
ing his crimes by the scores in a con-
fession filling FIVE typewriter pages,
admitting practically every crime
found in the statutes with the pos.
sible exception of murder, Jerry P
Wright, 26, forger, burglar, yeggman,
horse thief. hold up man, pick pocket,
self cOnfessed-was arrested here to-
day for preliminary hearing.
Wright. who began his career when
16 years old at Paris, Tenn, admits
among other things:
! Participating in a robbery at Hot
Springs, Ark, in which a Terre Haute
man was relieved of $4,000.
Stole thousands of dollars worth OF
merchandise from freight cars at
; Dupo. H., and sold a greater part of
the loot to the chief of police at
tDupo.
Robbed American Express Com
pany during last two years at every
depot between Paducah, KY. and
Memphis, where night employees
were not maintained.
! Robbed depots at Pierce, Tenn,
Hall, Tenn, Gates, Tenn. Ripley.
Tenn, Fulton, KY. and Oskaloosa. Ia
Worked" circus at Champaign, Ill.
on May 8 and followed show to Col.
urnbus, Ohio, and picked mans pocket
for $500, and returned to Chicago
Broke into two depots between
Champaign and Kankakee, and sold
stolen stuff in Champaign.
His signed confession states thous-
ands Of dollars have passed through
his hand Illegally. He estimates he
has stolen ten horses and buggies,
two barrels Of whiskey, half a hun.
Edred suits of clothes and merchandise
enough to start q general store.
During the first nine years of his
career he operated mostly in Ten
nessee. He was arrested once before
4 in Arkansas and served one year.
He was arrested this time at Oakland.
/ Ill.
II will be remembered that the To-
cal M. a. st. l.. station was entered
one evening, while the night clerk
was in the room above the ticket
Office caring for telegraph messages
! between train times. several operat.
ors were in the second floor dispatch
ers Office az the same time. A large
light was also burning In the ticket
ONCE. A window was pried open and
the money drawer broken, 5000
taken.