The sun., 1918-10-05
ACCUSED MURDERER 4
ESCAPES THE T0MBS.
Harrison, Walters Club Ban
dit, Eludes Guards on Way
to Court Room.
JUDGE SCORES SYSTEM
Conducts Investigation and
Holds Deputies on Misdc-
meanor Charge.

Utterly dissatisfied with Tombs prison
life and apprehensive. doubtless. Of a
future which limited at an electric chair
rather more than vaguely Richard Har-
risor, under indictment for murder in
the first degree, and one of the most
police. made a spectacular escape yes
terday morning.
Harrison took advantage of the sin
gularly lax system by which prisoners
are escorted from prison to court, broke
from a group Of eleven men guarded
by only tue deputies. and escaped
through the very court room in which
he was to have been arraigned.
The. celebrity of this exploit coming
soon after the escape OF the muir
derer. Vincent Gaffney. June IL,
| aroused the Indignation OF Judge Will
lam II. Wadhams. A John Doe investi-
cation brought before him Sheriff Knott,
Warden Hanley OF the Tombs, deputy
sheriffs Adolph Jacobs and William
| Hannigan and others. The result was
that Judge Wadhams, after scoring the
loose conditions and expressing surprise
| that the number OF escapes has been
so small, held Deputies Jacobs and
Hanley on a charge of suffering a
prisoner to escape" This is only a
misdemeanor, provided there was no
| intent to further the escape.
| Held Up waters Club.
Harrison, revolver in hand. invaded
| the Knickerbocker Walters Club. 1877
Sixth avenue, the morning Of Septem-
Der Z. and lined UP club members pre-
paratory to robbing them. He was as
sisted by three other bandits, who were
footing the walters when Detective Ber-
| tram Masked dashed into the club.
George J. Griffiths, an invaded Cana
dian soldier. had the courage to aid
Maskiel, and was killed by the robbers
Thereupon Masked, in standup gun
| fight, killed one OF the bandits and
placed Harrison and Gustav Guillaume
| under arrest. For this Commissioner
Enright made him a first grade de-
| tective.
Harrison and Guillaume were indicted
for murder in the first degree, and
yesterday was the day set for their
arraignment The court officers are
They were not there at $3.50 yesterda.
morning. for when Harrison ran ir
from the corridor at 9:45 he found ar
empty room.
Although Harrison and Guillaumt
were taken at the scene OF the killing
although the police and the prison au
| thorities had been warned that he was
determined to escape and although a
plot to liberate him from Bellevue Hos.
pital had been detected Just in time
| to foil II, no more care was taker
to guard him and Guillaumo on the
way from the Tombs than was used il
guarding petty thieves.
Guards Were Converting.
After crossing the Bridge OF Signs tn,
route led down two flights of stairs tc
the prison pen Of Part I. Of Genera
Sessions. AS they passed through
corridor. poorly lighted and narrow
Harrison passed out OF sight. Hannigan
the guaSd who led the way. for som,
reason having gone to the rear TO speal
to Jacobs. the other guard. When h,
returned he noticed man was missing
and that door from the corridor int,
wire enclosure in the court room wa
ajaS. Opening the door further. h,
caught glimpse of Harrison. who hat
climbed the wire enclosure. In an IN
slant Harrison was out of the cour
room and was seen no more. although
10000 policemen are looking for him.
J When Judge Wadhams was informe,
that a man indicted for first degree muir
der had escaped he notified Alfred j
Talley, Assistant District Attorney, O
his purpose to sit Immediately as a Mag
istrate in proceedings to determine tn
responsibility. Meanwhile Sheriff Knot
and Warden John j. Hanley were sus
|. pending Guards Jacobs and Hann!gan.
The first witness. Thomas F. Burke
head deputy sheriff In charge OF Gen
eral Sessions prisoners: Warden Hanle
Of the Tombs and Detective Slevin sal
they had been told OF Harrson's inten
, ton to escape from the prison ward O
Bellevue Hospital Slevin added that h
and Maskiel searched the prison war
l after Harrison was transferred fror
Bellevue to the Tombs and found thre
hacksaws hidden under a water cooler
Warden Blames Sheriff.
The warden testified that he had trans
ferred Harrison to the fourth tier I
Isolate him from three OF his friend
, and instructed one OF the Tombs guard
to keep a close eye on Harrison. Judg
!, Wadhams pressed home an obviou
. weakness in the system which permits
large number OF prisoners to be trans
, ferred from prison to court under tn
, guard OF one or two men. The warde
replied that General Sessions prisoner
are in charge of the Sherifr's men, an
not OF Tombs guards and that II She,
IFS men asked for any number OF pris
oners he had no alternative except I
accede.
Judge wadhams wanted to know VIII
, dangerous prisoners were not handcuffe
. to their guards, but could get no sati.
: factory reply. 1t has been the custol
!, for Sheriff and warden to trust to tn
| Judgment of tho nndar R1far1a
\ Sheriff Knott testified that he needle
more men for such work, having onl
, six. but could get no satisfaction frol
4 the Board of Estimate.
o Another Escape Attempted.
. While the inquiry was being col
: Quoted another prisoner, Louis Mong
. made a dash for liberty out of the She
i iff's Office In the Criminal Courts Builc
y ing. He ran down the two flights
|, stairs into the basement and was caugl
\ there by pursuing. deputy sheriff, Law
?. renee Rooney, who threatened to sho,
4 II he didn't stop. Mongo was han,
q cufred and led away 10 tho Tombs
Mongo was to be examined by a con
It mission on lunacy. He had tried
8 Eouge the eye out OF girl. His fiigl
Il led through a crowd shut out of Il
r court room where the inquiry was beir
q conducted.
t ington street. lie served a term for Z
l. tory. The police alarm describes him |
70 follows:
n Richard Harrison. alias hickey Ha
rison, also known as Peter Perello,
L years old, 5 feet 3 inches, medium bull
l. 144 mounds, brown hair and eyes, dal