Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1916-02-04
ST. Paul STORE BUGlIAR ! : : D J


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GOODS WERE RHoovERED
BURGLARS PxploN
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What is considered, BY the police,
one Of the most neatly planned burg
laries ever attempted here was perpe.
trated Monday night when tive men
entered the st. Paul dry goods stere
and took silks valued at ST, md
the entire kid glove stock, valued Sat
$500. The burglary took place some ne
time after II p. M, and the bur9l.sts
were in the county jail before 4 6,cHsks rs
the following morning, N. T. :5.1Aeens
Friesinger, being very much u !. sx', y !,
dence, in effecting their capture. =.Ats,.l =Ats,.ll
brought before Judge Parsons in die
trict court, where they pleaded guilty
to first degree burglary and were CIV
en- indeterminate terms in, the Still
water penitentiary. They were taken
down there Wednesday morning by
Sheriff Felix -, =: l.. :tss.5 :sz
According to Hubert Friesinger the
burglars came into the city on an af-s
ternoon train Monday. Both 4 were
well dressed and would not be taken
for criminals but Friesinger 81 suspi-
cions were aroused when they left two
suitcases under seat in the ladies'
waiting room at the station. He
watched them as they left the depot
and saw them enter the West hotel,
where they registered as j. Curtis and
r. Collins. Later Friesinger took the
grips and placed them in the baggage
room for storage. It was then that he
found out that they were empty and
this caused his suspicion to bec09e
greater and he decided to keep an eye
on the men. 49, ..'
Late that afternoon the men brought
two new suitcases to the station. These
they had purchased at a. local store
that afternoon. These cases were also
empty. At about 10 O'Clock in the
evening they came after the casee,
All this time Friesinger had watched
the men and now he proceeded to lay
the plans for their capture. Richard
and Boyes, the local night patrolmen,
were informed Of, the possibility DC S
burglary and kept on the lookout fqf
them. Everything possible was done
to close all possible avenues Of escaps.
= Entrance to the store was gained
through the skylight ON the roof. yOnS
Of the panes Of glass had been neatly
cut out and the roof ladder let down
through the opening, onto display
table: in the rear Of the store. I One OF
the: men went into the store in this
manner and the front and back doors
| were then unlocked so as to make IS.
cape easy in case of detection. They
then proceeded to select all the best
silks in the store, taking them from
the wrappers and replacing. the empty
wrappers on the - shelves. The same
was done with the kid gloves. All
four suitceses were filed, the se1kjse
lootsan9s1Ftin tes sc 90. : .t 81.
] The men went to the station at
about 3 a. M, about ten minutes apart,
presumably to catch the early morning
train to Minneapolis. Hubert Friesin.
! ger followed the first man to the sta
tion and as the second one came near
the south water tank he was nabbed
by Nj ght Patrolman Boyes. Boyes
brought his man to the station and
Friesinger then covered the other man.
Both were searched and revolvers of
large calibre were found on their per.
son, indicating that they had meant to
make a success of the thing. They had
| oAAJ eAAOO SuAtCcaScS III tuc1T posses
| sion when arrested, but upon being
questioned, admitted that they had
hidden one behind building near the
east approach to the Broadway bridge,
as it had proved too heavy to carry,
They had evidently expected to return
and get this case later. The men were
taken to the county jail and locked
up. 49,.
Upon being questioned by County
Attorney Rosenmeier they decided to
plead guilty to charge Of first degree
burglary, which they did before Judge
Parsons at o'clock in the afternoon,
and received their sentence.
In court the men gave their names
as Lee Curtis and T. j. Murphy, The
former was about So years Of age and
the latter SO. They stated thu 1t they
were from St. Paul.. The latter admit.
ted having served term in the feder.
al penitentiary at Fl. Leavenworth,
Kansas, for a mail robbery. He said
that he was formerly engaged in the
dry goods business. -.
It is the opinion Of the local police
and Of Mr.. Vessel, proprietor Of the
store, that the burglary was planned
several days in advance. Mr.. Vessel
states that on Saturday night he saw
a man enter the alley at the rear of
the store and walk to the back door,
examine the transom and then disap.
pear down the alley. Mr.. Vessel gave
the matter but little thought at the
time but now is firm in the belief that
this man was one Of the burglars. He
also remembers seeing man enter the
store during the day Monday and no.
ticed that the man examined the sky.
light, but even then he thought moth.
ing Of the possibility Of robbery.
Friesinger is entitled to much credit
for his excellent work and complete
success in this affair. The burglars
are without question old timers and
their capture and conviction. certainly