Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-02-21
$500 F0RCERIES IN TW0-YEAR PERIOD CHARGED TO MAN M. l.. Harrell, Who Had New Idea, Finally Comes to
 Grief PHONE MESSAGES AID
 IN PASSING CHECKS Deputies McBurnett and Williams Arrest Farmer as Others From Sheriff's Office Trail
 Him

M. L. Harrell, AZ years old, of Wat sons Chapel, wearing the makeup of backwoodsman, but possessing mind that was meant for better things languished in the Jefferson county jail last night.
 For nearly two years the sheriff's office has sought Harrell for for gerry. For an equal length of time they failed to catch him and his forgeries continued. Yesterday Harrell made tactical error and slipped into net that Sheriff c. M Nichol and Deputy Sheriff J. L. Me- Burnett had made for him. His ar rest about 4 o'clock followed. He admitted everything to the officers yesterday afternoon and settling down in his cell, told Sheriff Nichol that his head hurt. "There's nothing the matter with your head" the sheriff declared, and Harrell's meth cd bears out the sheriff's opinion.
 Harrell is being held on 16 counts of forgery under bond of $1,5OO. He had not made bond last night. Harrell, well known around the courthouse, worked a combination confidence-check forging scheme that kept him safe for nearly two years. His forgeries were crude, but his confidence methods were good and he was past master in detail.
 Harrell would forge check, sign ing the name of some one of prom thence. He then would call up a merchant, generally grocer, repre- sent himself to be the signer of the check and tell the merchant that he would "send man down for a bill of goods with a check" from him. self to pay for same. Arriving he would make his purchases, present change and depart.
 Several of the checks were forged on the Arkansas Light and Power company. For these, Harrell had obtained firm rubber stamp and firm check book. He would make the check out to himself under an alias, sign the name of H. c. Couch, call up his prospective victim, say ing he was Couch and authorize the purchase merchant to deliver to "Mr. Davis" or "Mr. Lawrence" goods desired and to cash check for them. When he appeared "Mr. Lawrence" or "Mr. Davis," as the case frequent ly was,' was welcomed. To inspire confidence he would wear an em- employees button and decorate his check with words "charge to trans fer transmission account" or "charge to team dept" Harrell carried out his ideas of detail with other vic- tims. On checks he forged on c. F. Brunon, a sign painter, the advertis- ing sign board and the number was written.
 Recently Sheriff Nichol and Depu- ty Sheriff McBurnett notified prac- tically all Pine Bluff merchants of Harrell's methods of operations. Yes terday J. A. Clement, Ninth and Main, and the Steed Grocery com pany, Seventeenth and Main, receiv- ed telephone calls and notified the sheriff's office. Sheriff Nichol and Deputy Sheriff Ebert Reynolds went to the latter place and Deputies McBurnett and Williams to the form CT. At each place negroes called with floats for the goods. The negro who visited the Clement store got under way and McBurnett and w ilIlAIuS xVlAVWCQ IIlAu HI S1Ii auVVs Almost simultaneously, the negro from the Steed store started out with the officers trailing him. When the first negro reached Fifth and State, Harrell appeared and McBur- nett immediately placed him under arrest. The negro from 'the Steed store also went to the vicinity and the officers there were waiting de- velopments when McBurnett appear ed with his prisoner.
 Checks forged here over Harrell's two-year period of operations ap- proxinlated $900.s They were in amounts ranging from $30 to $75. Harrell also is accused of having worked in Little Rock, Malvern and other Arkansas towns and half dozen detective agencies and county officers have been after him.
 Harrell has wife and II children living at Watson's Chapel.