Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-01
RALPH MUSTARD
Continued from page 1


, started on the trip with the two men un-
| accompanied.
When near Bellevue the attack is
alleged to have been made. Ii Is the
belief Of the police that the coupling pin
was in possession Of the two men when
they boarded the automobile.
Joseph McVey, the state highway
officer, who patrols the pike, found
Mustard walking toward this city. They
made for the nearest telephone and called
for James Carr, the manager of the taxi
cab company, asking him TO send help.
Carr, with several companions, started
for the scene Of the trouble and another
car followed in a short time.
When Cars machine met O'Neill and
Bowers, walking toward this city also,
they made inquiry of the two men and
while talking to them the second car
arrived. The occupants OF the latter
knew O'Neill and Bowers and asked them
to 90 on TO Chester with them. The
request was complied with.
TAxIcAB ABANDONED AND plTcHEp.
The automobile that Mustard had
started out IN was found abandoned IN n
ditch and this is thought to account for
its not having been stolen. The damaged
car and Mustard were brought back to
this city and Mustard was taken to the
Delaware Hospital.
About 2 clock this morning, the local
police were notified and Captain David
Wardle assigned Detective James G.
Riley and Special Officer John McAteer
to make an investigation. They started
for the Annex Hotel first and there secured
descriptions of the two men and then
went to the hospital, following which
they started for the scene of the assault.
While Riley and McAteer were talking
TO McVey, near the Mt. Pleasant school
house, q taxicab returning from Chester
came into view. This was stopped and
O'Neill and Bowers taken into custody
by the police on the information that had
been obtained earlier.
Then trouble started, for a number of
the men in the machine are said to have
been drinking and showed fight. After
considerable difficulty the two men were
taken however and were brought to the
police station, where they were locked up.
The man at the restaurant, who made the
call for the two men, and Mustard at the
hospital, according TO the police, have
aided in the alleged Identification
DENY COMMITTING ASSAULT.
O'Neill and Bowers, according 10 the
police, when examined today, denied being
connected with the crime IL is under
stood that the police have examined the
men to find also if there is any possibility
of their knowing anything about the
Lacey murder.
The police will not discuss this phase
of the case, but it is said that both of the
men claim that they were IN the service,
one claiming that he was in the army,
while the other claims he was in tho Navy
at the time the Lacey murder took place
on New Years night, 1918
With Detective Riley and Special Officer
McAteer and Highway Officer McVey,
when the arrest was made, was Earl Cole,
another highway officer.
According to the police, O'NciIl and
Bowers appeared as If they had been
drinking when the taxicab was called
Mustard was not able TO state just what
struck him. 1t is not thought that Mus
tard's skull is fractured He was badly
cut behind the right ear and over one
eye, in addition to having sustained some
minor injuries about the head His condi-
ton this afternoon was reported as fa-
vorable
IL was not possible to obtain from the
Delaware Hospital, this afternoon, any
information as to the extent OF the in
juries
Although there have been reports that
there was another cause for the crime,
the police are of the belief that robbery
was the motive and that the men intended
taking the car. Ii is believed that they
were foiled in this by Mustard, who,
when first struck, Immediately ditched
the car.