The Washington times., 1920-01-18
D. c. Jimmy THIEF
STILL AT LARGE
Has Robbed More Than 100
Apartments BY Mysterious
Methods.
IcontInued From Page l3.)

CONTINUED From Page l3)
him with a robbery. He attempts 70
steal diamonds and other valuable
stones which can be quickly turned
into ready cash. .a
The Jimmy thief" operates alone
'jimmying" doors OF apartments IL
his Job. He does not associate his
work with that OF the porch climber
the second story man, pickpocket OF
other types OF thieves. He hnds
"pickings" are good robbing apart
ments, to which he confines his work
He seldom operates in the two OIL
three-stoTy dwelling.
Goo. From Door 90 Door.
The Jimmy man" will go from
door TO door. ringing bells. He sell
dom uses keys to enter apartments,
because he is hampered by the type
OF locks now on most doors. He fnds
IL lust as easy to force back the
plunger of the door lock with his
Jimmy" as to open the door with a
duplicate key.
Most Jimmy" thieves are young
men, between twenty-five and thirty
years OF age. He dresses well. hav-
ing the appearance OF solicitor or
clerk. But his appearance bellies his
profession. IL is only to the trained
eye OF the professional detective that
his work is discovered. Most OF the
apartment occupants robbed by the
Jimmy man." believe the job was
done by a duplicate key thief. But
the headquarters man in his investi-
cation frequently offsets this theory
by the discovery that the door was
"jimmied," the apartment robbed, and
the door closed securely by the "jim-
my man" in making his departure.
Plays Circuit OF Cities.
The Jimmy man" does not confine
his work to any one city. After
pulling a series of jobs in Wash
ington, for instance. he will make his
way to BALTIMORE, Pittsburgh, or
some other city. He is a cool, caicu-
lating fellow, who defies detectives
because of the shrewd and careful
manner in which he operates.
When the Jimmy man" first made
his appearance in Washington, In.
spector Grant notified janitors OF all
apartments to keep on the watch for
him. But the mysterious robber has
so far evaded detection, and has
"cleaned up" a number of apartments,
even while close watch was being
made for him. Getting in an elevator
Of an apartment house, the Jimmy
thier' will get off at, perhaps. the
fifth floor. He then will sneak
around. probably going to the fourth
or third floors. Finding an unoccu-
pied apartment. he will force the
door, pocket his loot, and as mysteri-
ously disappear as he came.
Readily Sells Loot.
The Jimmy man" has but little
trouble converting the stolen jewelry
into ready case. He sells his loot to
a fence" an Individual who buys
stolen jewelry or other articles. The
fence" has a melting pot, in which
all trace of it's ownership Is obliter-
ated. The Jimmy man" probably
gets one-third of the value of the
jewelry he steals. but he Is satisfied
with that.
Yes" commented Inspector Grant,
the Jimmy man is one of the Grim
inals who cause us a lot of trouble.
He is a hard man to catch at his
work, because few persons realize
what he is doing at a door, so deftly
does he force the lock.
Every city has its troubles with
this mysterious crook, who comes and
goes, leaving with valuables that he
found no difficulty pocketing after
getting into apartments"