The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-02-16
YOUNG CRIMINAL
TO REFORM SCHOOL
1+YEAR-OLD BOY STARTS On
CAREER OF CRIME AND
ENDS SUDDENLY

The career of a boy who evidently
started out to be real criminal, was
cut short last night by the arrest Of
Marion Lehman, IA years old, after he
had, according to his own confession
as reported by John Nisbet, prosecut
ing attorney, confessed to stealing a
team, buggy and harness and burglar
izing store Friday night. Today he
was sentenced, upon his plea of guilty
to a charge of burglary, to remain in
the reform school at St Anthony un-
til he is 81 years old. The boy is only
IA years old and is the youngest Grim
inal ever brought before the Latah
county courts on so serious a charge.
Word reached the sheriffs office Sat.
urday that the team of Peter Clyde
had been stolen. with a buggy and
harness Friday night. Later word
came from Princeton that the Adair
store had been burglArized. Deputy
Sheriff Summerfield and Prosecuting
Attorney Nisbet took the train to Pa
louise after telegraphing to Pat Ma
line special deputy sheriff stationed
at Bovill, to meet them there. The
party took car there for Onaway,
small town a mile from Potlatch,
from which place the team had been
stolen. From Onaway they went to
Princeton and examined the burglar
lied store. A boys knit mitten left
in the store and a button torn from
red and white sweater when the
burglar crawled through the window,
furnished the clues upon which the Of
ficers worked.
The mitten was recognized as hav-
ing belonged to Marion Lehman and
was taken to his mother. She said
she had knitted it and that a cut in
it was made when Marion had cut
his hand on some glass. She did not
know where her son was at the time
the officers visited the Lehman home.
Securing the services of man
named Carlson as a guide the party
found the tracks of buggy and fol-
lowed it from Princeton to the Car
rico mine on Gold hill The buggy
was found in some brush and marks
showed that the horses had fallen
down on steep, icy hill and had slid
backward. The four tugs had been
cut from the harness and the harness
had been cut in other places. Many
dollars worth of goods taken from
the Adair store at Princeton were
found cached in the brush a few rods |
from where the buggy had been left. |
Tracks of the boy were followed to the |
Jim Nisbet homestead cabin in the
woods three miles distant, where |
other goods stolen from the Adair
store were found, but the boy was
not there. 1t was after midnight, but !
the officers and their guide visited
three other cabins but did not find
the boy They returned to Onaway
and to the Lehman home, reaching
there after o'clock in the morning
and found the boy in bed He was ar
rested and, according to the statement
Of Prosecuting Attorney Nisbet, con-
fessed. He was brought to Moscow
and Judge Steele sentenced him to the
reform school for seven. years, or un-
Ill he becomes Fl years old.
The boy, according to the officers,
a campaign of crime. He Sc
several boxes of crackers, food stuffs
stockings, mittens, candy of various
Kinds a caddy of chewing tobacco, a
'ox of 100 cigars, cartons of cigaretts
cutlery and enough food to keep him
or weeks and plumber valued at sew
,ral hundreds of dollars.
The boy will be sent to the reform
tory just as soon as travelling guard I
;an come here after him. Prosecuting !
Attorney Nisbet said: "The boy has
,een in trouble before Our supicions ;
ell upon him as soon as we learned 4
he details of the crime He talks
reely OF his crimes and pleaded guilty {
vhen taken into court" {