Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-05-18
Thief IS
CAUGHT ANDHIS
ACTIVITY STOPS
- - z: - : s = 8. IL 2
Police Capture Man Who Stole
Wire and Obtained Rice
Through Frauds =

Jesse James and the Younger boys
might have turned green with envy
had they been In Capt. McDufftes Of
flee to hear the big detectives yarn
Of the darins and nerve Of one TN
Soon, forger, embezzler, ex-convict
and confessed robber-atlarge ana
telephone conspiratot whose actiV-
ties came to Q sudden halt by his ar
rest yesterday afternoon.
Tin Soon did not stoop. to purse
snatching, pocket picking or shop Int
|ine: he went in for the more formid-
able tricks Of the robbers trade. -Four
Honolulu concerns Of no less pfomin-
ence thai the HaWaiinR HleetFie Co.
Iheb. n. Dawes 4 Co., j. il9clLLsla
q Co and Fred u. WAldrcn 4 Co.
were victims Of he artifice.
McDnffie.e catch is part Chinese,
but mostly Hawaiian. Briefly he e
CHARGED with having stolen about 5000
feet o. 1872 pounds Of copper wire.
selling ct 20 cents q pound, from the
electric company, and about ~ bags
of rice at about s. bag, from the
other concerns. What he stole Was
not 90 much; It was the way he did.
Il that Is interesting. Tin Soon Is In
fail awaiting trial for his thefts, all
of which the police say he has con-
fessed. The wire Is IN McDuffie's Of
flee and some Of the rice + coming
back. Therefore the story comes ont
now. although McDuffie has been
working on the case for several days.
Had Received Parole
II Tin Soon goes back 70 prison
without trial, and McDuffie says this
viii not be the case, he viii stu have
to serve time until August s, 1915. On
February rs, 1910, he was convicted
of embezzlement and on August Is,
the same year, he was again convict
ed Of forgery. In December, 1915. ne
was paroled and has been at large
since. Religious pretenses are said
to have freed him.
10 get the wire Tin Soon stole q
pair Of pole climbers from Q Hawaiian
Electric vehicle working on Q line IN
Moanalua, took the tip from them and
Immediately proceeded to cut the
valuable copper down and sell II to
Junk companies as fast as It was
strung.
One line which Tin Soon tapped tor
several hundred feet was designed to
carry $4,000 volts, but had not yet
been put into use. II It had Tin Soon
would be little more than q grease.
spot today instead Of 4 very sorrowfui
young man.
McDuffie was informed OF the loss
OF the wire. and immediately laid Q
net which ultimately enmeshed the
miscreant. About the same time the
detective chief got the complaint OF
the rice mystery. Shortly afterwards
he decided that one man was respon-
sible for both and such proved to be
the case.
Tin Soon,s scheme was to call up
one of the above named concerns and.
order rice delivered for the Board of
Health on Waiakamilo road. When
the delivery wagon came he received
the rice that cost about So q sack and
sold ii to some restaurant for about
81 and so the plot ran along smoothly
until the Board Of Health was asked
for q requisition. Then the whole
plot came to light but not the plotter.
Not long ago the Hawaiian Electric
officials were informed that q strang-
Ter was cutting their wires and they
made q quick dash to Moanalua with
out notifying the police, but Tin Soon
saw them coming and ESCAPED in the
brush.
E McDuffie left sample Of the stolen
wire at every junk shop In Honolulu
with instructions to inform him the,
moment any similar wire was offered,
Yesterday he got q. call from place
on Kanehameha " road that Tin
Soon would be back soon with several
pounds. Detectives Swift and Suzu-l
HI lay In ambush and caught him In
the act.
AS . resu,t-of the whole affair Tsu.9
iii has been arrested on q charge Of
receiving stolen goods and win be-
heard May 80. He Is said to hayepur.
chased some Of the wire after having