The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1922-03-01
Yon Arrested on
Charge of Arson
Wood Hill CoDfesses to Part in Con-
nection With Mysterious Fires
Says District Attorney
OTHER ARRESTS EXPECTED
IN NEAR FUTURE; KENNY
Yon Refuses TO Talk; Claimed to
Have No Insurance on Property
Destroyed by Midnight Blaze

Jack Yon, proprietor of the SAM
tary barbershop in Fallon has been
placed under arrest and further ar
rests are to be expected in the near
future, in connection with several
mysterious fires that occurred in
Fallon during the latter part of the
past year, according to the state
ment of District Attorney George j.
Kenny, given out this morning.
The arrest of Yon followed the
arrested in Modesto, California, last
Friday on a charge of arson at the
instance OF the National Board of
Underwriters, said Kenny.
Hill was brought to Fallon by
Sheriff Jim Smith and arrived here
Monday morning. He was question
ed by the district attorney, and ac-
cording to Kenny, explained num-
Der of fires of hitherto unknown orr
gin.
Yon has as yet refused to make
any statement concerning the af-
fair, Kenny stated The charge to
be placed against him is one of ars-
on and intent TO defraud insurance
companies.
No Insurance He Said
At the time the Yon home was de-
stroyed by fire, December II, Yon
stated to a representative of the
Fallon Standard that he had no in
ha nd af
everything in the house was a COM
plete loss. The article appearing
in the issue OF the Standard, De-
cember 21. follows:
"The residence of Jack Yon was
completely destroyed by fire last
Saturday night. The blaze started
at about 1915 o'clock. Defective
wiring is thought to be responsible.
THE house was unoeeupied at the
time the fire started. Yon and his
wife were attending a dance at the
St Clair school house, several miles
from Fallon at the time They were
notified there that their home had
been burned.
According to the owner he held
no insurance on the property. Moth
ing was saved from the house"
1t later developed that consider
able insurance had been placed on
the property.
End Of Long Chase
Press reports from Modesto stat
ed that Hill was wanted in Reno on
charges of arson, but according to
Kenny there are no such charges
against him in that place.
A press dispatch, telling of
Woods arrest in Modesto, follows;
Modesto, Feb. 24.-Wood l.. Hill,
also known as Lewis Wood Hill, ar
rested here today on a charge of ars-
on at the instance of the National
Board OF Fire Underwriters. con-
fessed, according to the police, that
he was paid $3.50 to set fire to build
ings in Reno.
II. J. Sloan, of the Arson Board,
who located Hill on ranch two
miles south of here today, announc-
ed he had been trailing Hill for
some time and that the chase had
led from Reno, New, to Chico, Calf,
then to Red Bluff. Turloek, San
Francisco and then here. Sheriff X.
l.. Dallas and a deputy made the ar
rest.
Suspected of Other Fires
According to Sloan, Hill Is want
ed for burning a harness shop he
operated in Reno, and is suspected
of other fires in that vicinity.
The authorities received a tele-
gram from District Attorney G. j.
Kenny, of Fallon, New, today, say
ing that there was a charge of arson
against Wood In Fallon and asking
them to hold him.
Thought Member of Gang
According to announcement made
by Sloan here today, Hill has an
Eastern arson record. and was one
of a gang of professional arsonists.
who, among other things, burned
hotel and a mansion in Illinois, the
hotel loss being s1,000,0OO. Sloan
said Hill turned states evidence IN
this case and was granted probation.
Eight or nine members of the gang
of which Hill formerly was MEM
ber, he said, we're in Jail and doing
time in the Joliet, Ill, penitentiary.
II. j. Sloan and Fred Classen,
special agents for the National
Board of Underwriters, are in Fal-
Ion assisting the district attorney
on the case. Classen stated that
Hill is reputed to be a professional
arsonist
The crime of arson is punishable
by a sentence of from one to ten
years In the state prison, according
to Kenny.