Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-03-13
8 ARMED BANDITS
LOOT Z JEWELRY
STORES; CROWD
IS HELD At BAY
Men Smash Window While
Broadway, in New York,
Is Thronged With Theater
GoerS; Steal VaIuabIeS,
BOTH ROBBERIES IN
WHITE LIGHT ZONE
In One Instance Pepper Is
Thrown Into Clerks Eyes,
One Pedestrian Shot, Two
Arrests Have Been Made,

tsV MORNING JaussAL SPECIAL LrAsEo wlRS1
New York. March 12,--While
broadway tonight was crowded
with theatergoers. three armed
bandits smashed in the window of
n jewelry store at Thirty-seVenth
street They kept the crowds at
bay with revolvers until they had
emptied the contents of several
trays into their pockets and then
escaped, shooting one pedestrian
who attempted to stop them,
A few minutes later three men
entered another Broadway jewelrY
store, a few blocks uptown, and,
after throwing pepper in a clerks
eyes, grabbed some trays of jew
elry and ran from the store. Two
men alleged to be members of the
THO were arrested by the police
after a chase.
Both robberies, committed In
the heart of the White Light dis
trict. were witnessed by thousands
Of persons. Broadway was thrown
into the greatest excitement as
police reserves arrived on the
Gouble quick and working on the
theory that the robberies were
committed by two different bands
raced up and down side streets and
secured the subway for the -four
missing bandits.
Proprietors of the two stores
estimated that thousands of dol
lors worth of jewelry had been
stolen. In addition to the pedes-
trian who was shot, but not seri-
ously injured, one other member
of the crowd succeeded in getting
his fingers on a fugitive.
He was rewarded by crack on
the wrist from O revolver butt
which caused his arm to fall help
lessly to his side.
The first robbery, in which
Schwartz Bros. were the victims,
was engineered with great daring.
While rubbing elbows with passing
pedestrians, one of the bandits
Slipped an iron bar through the
handles of the door so that IL
could not be opened from the in
side. Then n brick wrapped In
cloth was hurled through the win
dow.
At the jingle OF falling glass
Frank SwartZ ran eXcitedly to the
door and tried to pun it open as he
shouted for help. The crowd, also
attracted by the crash. swarmed
about the robbers. two Of whom
continued coolly at their task of
iaking diamonds and rubies ont of
the window, while the third mem
her of their party kept spectators
al bay.
Seeing the crowd halt and form
a semi-circle around the store,
Patrolman Anthony Weigen hur-
ned there, Just as he arrived the
robbers packed the last of the
gems into their pockets, parted
company and started each for him.
self to carve a way through the
human semi-circle.
Then came gun play Sighting q
man break away from the crowd
and dart up Broadway, Weigen
with drawn revolver, gave chase
The crowds took to cover as
they heard the crack of a revolver
hut Weigen had missed and the
robber spend on In front Of the
fugitive was subway air hole with
the cover off and through this hole
the bandit jumped to the subway
track, fifteen below. He narrowiS
rnissed being struck by passing
train, for the roar of its progress
was heard on the street above q
few seconds after the robber play
ed his last card and won.
The second robbery occurred ir
the store of Marcus Feldman. be-
tween Forty-fifth and Forty sixth
streets, where the theater crowds
are thickest.