The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1924-05-15
Clever Work OF Claude Bart
lett Causes Arrest of
Three Youths
DRIVING BUICK OF
SEATTLE HOTEL MAN
Locked in City Jail they Get
Out Before Westside
Deputy Arrives

ouick and clever detective work
on the part of Claude Bartlett, man
arer of the Speck Buick Garage,
Saturday resulted in the recovery of
! stolen Seattle automobile and the
arrest of the thieves, who were
handed over to King county author
tiles only after they had broken the
Kennewick city Jail.
The fact that the three young men
accused Of the crime were broke, and
that it takes money to cross the
bridge between Kennewick and Pasco
proved their undoing.
The youths stopped at the Buick
garage Saturday afternoon and in
ouired of Earl Broughton the way
to Walla Walla. They left town but
returned in IA few minutes saying
they did not have enough money to
pay bridge toll. They conferred with
Manager Bartlett and offered to
pawn their spare tire. Bartlett ad-
vanced them three dollars and took
the drivers name. That the owner
Of comparatively new Buick Six,
making a cross-country trip should
be so broke as to have to hook his
only spare tire, aroused Bartlett's
suspicious and unknown to the driv-
er he took the cars license number.
As soon as the Buick disappeared
around the corner Bartlett hurried
to the police station and consulted
the official register. of Washington
automobiles and found that the name
Of the owner of that particular Ii
cense was not that Of the man who
was driving it.
Chief Of Police Jack Dale and Bart
lett Immediately boarded Buick
roadster and gave chase. They caught
the other car just as it was entering
Burbank and the three men submit
ted to arrest without opposition. They
were brought back to Kennewick and
locked in the city jail.
Chief Dale Immediately called the
King county sheriff and learned that
the Buick had been stolen the pre-
ceeding Wednesday from its owner,
w. H Duggan, manager of Hotel
Seward. The sheriff said he would
send deputy to Kennewick on the
first train out of Seattle.
Deputy R. E. Murphy arrived that
night on N. P. train No. AZ and was
met at the station by Night Police
man ]. @. Reynolds and Deputy Sher-
Iff Chester McGee. The Seattle de-
putty requested that he be taken to
the Jail to have look at the prison
ers. But there were no prisoners in
the jail to be looked over. The front
door was locked all right, but block
of wood forced between it and the
jamb near the bottom told the story
of how the prisoners had pried out
the bottom of the door and crawled
thru to liberty.
MCGEE and Reynolds then recalled
that they had seen the three mer
walking west along the railroad
track while they were waiting at the
station for the deputy's. train. Or
the way to the station they had Wis
tied the jail to make sure that their
prisoners were not inside. From ther
until long after daylight the officers
secured the countryside west Of towr
but found no trace of the missing
men. The King county deputy gave
up the hunt and returned home and
the local police officers turned their
attention to the railroad yards IN
Pasco. About three o'clock Sunday
afternoon the three men were found
hiding near the railroad ice house
on the outskirts of Pasco and were
landed in the Franklin county Jail
They We're taken to Seattle Tuesday
BY Kinr county officers.
The three Young men gave the
names of L. R. Hawkins, r. B. Bu-
chanan and J. p. Shieman Two OF
the three claimed to have recently
COMPLETED enlistments in the u. S
ravy.
When arrested they were carrying
IN the tonneau of the car miscellan-
eous assortment of boxes of cigars,
cartons of cigarettes. boxes of candy
and other articles which officers be-
feve had been stolen by them. As
a means of getting gasoline they car
ried a new garbage can and length
OF rubber hose to synhon gas from
'he tanks of other mems cars.