South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-06-23
YOUTHFULQUINTET
ADMITS THEFT OF
MICHIGAN STORE
Local Boys, Held at Warsaw
for Syracuse Robbery, Tell
of Stealing Safe.

Signed confessions. purporting 20
explain the burglary Friday night
OF the Homer Grant and Son store
at Coloma. Mich. have been obtain
ed from the FIVE South Bend youths.
now in the Kosciuscko county jail
at Warsaw awaiting a hearing for
| robbery the night previous OF the
Wingard store al Syracuse.
A safe weighing 400 pounds, said
I TO contain 1926 in money and valu-
/ able papers. was dragged out OF the
! store at COloma and loaded into the
automobile used by the robbers. The
/ fe. following a further search for
I 10 conducted Thursday morning by
/ Sheriff Gene Bridgeman was found
in muck marsh at the base OF an
embankment near Lawrence. Mich.
The robbers had broken off the
I combination lock but had failed 20
/ open the safe.
/ According to Warsaw advices. the
/ five youths willingly admitted their
: connection with the Coloma robbery.
! After perpetratlng the robbery at
! Syracuse in which they obtained
about $4,000 worth OF merchandise.
J they Journeyed into Michigan. going
| first to Pokagon. thence 10 Lawrence
and after dark Friday evening. 20
/ st. Joseph From there they motor
ed TO Coloma, arriving there early
I Saturday morning. They admitted
| opening the side window OF the
Grant store, rified the store of edi-
| bles, left and returned later to steal
I the safe.
Capt Of Detectives Horace NJ
| Hamilton and Sheriff Gene
Brldgeman OF Berrien county were
/ instrumental in obtaining the con-
LESSONS. Together they left here
/ for Warsaw Wednesday. interviewed
| the boys. and obtained from them,
! IL is said. frank admissions of the
Coloma robbery.
Await Court Session
| Theodore Lorenz, Harry Flucky,
Charles Lyle Dodd. Harry Clayton
I and Kenneth Miller. all OF South
Bend. are the quintet, who In addi-
| ton to the two robberies, had al
ready admitted the theft OF the au-
| tomobile used by them IN their vigil
/ of crime. They await the end OF
court vacation. June 80, TO go be-
/ fore Judge Lemuel w. Royse Of the
/ Kosciuscloo county circuit court,
plead guilty and obtain sentence to
the Indiana state reformatory.
J In an effort to recover the safe.
officers obtained general directions
/ nf he 90 he
spot where IL was abandoned. Each
youth was able to give a vague de-
scription Of the big hollow. a brush
covered ravine beside the road
where they had rolled the heavy
safe down an embankment.
A trip over the designated vicin-
! ity Wednesday failed TO result in
/ trace OF the safe. Hamilton and
Bridgeman were then told that ii
| had been left lying in muck
swamp like ravine. The name
Schultz. former owner of the Three
in-One store owned by Grant and
Son. vas lettered upon the safe. il
wes told. The owner OF the safe
confronted the boys in Jail during
I the quizzing. He wanted valuable
! papers stored in the safe.
MilIer's Confession
, Among the signed confessions.
Miller. 1t is said. gave the best ac-
/ count OF the incidents leading up 10
and including the robbery Of the
| COloma store. 1t follows:
At Kosciousko county Jail, June
21, 1922:
Statement made by Kenneth
I Miller, after being duly sworn and
/ upon his oath deposes and says
! that his age is Is years. and lives
/ at 117O Portage Avenue, South
Bend. Ind.
''Theo. Lorenz, Harry Fluckey.
I Lisle Dodds, Harry Clayton and
myself went into Pokagon. Mich,
! got something TO eat, then TO
Lawrence, Mich, laid around
there a while. At dark we went
to st. Joe. then TO Coloma. Mich,
! arriving about $3.50 O'Clock a. m
on Saturday morning, June IT,
1922. We drove around town
/ awhile. then went over TO the
] Grant 3-In-1 store and entered by
/ opening the side window with a
! monkey wrench. All entered but
! Ted Lorenz. He stayed in the
! car. We went 10 the cash regis
/ ter first. II was empty. Clayton
( filled a big basket with two cans
! OF cookies. baked beans and ba
J nanas. Then l went over and got
some shoes. We then drove way
( We then returned to the store
Z = =
SAFE out and put il in the big
/ green six stolen Studebaker car,
which stood behind the store.
{ Clayton's leg was hurt when the
I safe fell on his leg. Fluckey was
I also hurt putting the safe in the
auto. We turned 10 our left out
/ OF Coloma, went through a small
town. turned 10 the right on a
/ gravel road. Then turned TO our
4 left until we commenced TO get
/ stuck and then turned to our left.
/ We came 20 a big hollow and
throwed the safe out. about fifty
/ feet from the road We then went
{ 70 Niles then came back TO South
/ Send. At the Three-in-One store
we got some socks. neekties The
I socks I am wearing now. I sold
/ the same shoes 20 COMFY Frain at
/ South Bend. I told him at the
/ time they were stolen. He told
me not 10 tell anyone that he had
I them. We took hinge mob caps
OF the safe TO get at the hinges,
/ but could not. We intended TO re-
I turn next day TO get the safe. We
/ intended 10 steal another car
This statement was made OF
/ nrI-n free rrfil