New Britain herald., 1924-10-15
Hope That Man Held In Hagerstown May Be Chapman - Auto Was Stolen In Ohio -McCue Back From Springfield.

| HS tye5 Ol tno lOCdIt bldto anu federal officials working here in an effort to unearth some clue that would lead to the arrest of Gerald Chapman, notorious. gentleman yegg, who escaped Sunday morning after mortally wounding Policeman James Skelly when the policeman sur- prised the bandit as he was ready to blow open a second safe in the Davidson & Leventhal store, are turned towards Hagerstown, Md, where it is reported that the man shot and killed a state policeman in Gettysburg, Pa.. yesterday after noon has been arrested. There is a belief that the suspect is not Skelly's assailant but no clue will be neg lected.
 Federal agents have gone to the Maryland city to see the prisoner held there as descriptions sent out of the man answer in detail to the description of Chapman. H. F. Stanbaugh. the cashier of the bank held up in the Pennsylvania city yesterday afternoon shortly before closing time, gave the police a de- scription of the bandit who appeared at the bank with a handkerchief covering his eyes and mouth, and it tallied in every respect to Chap- man.
 McCue Back.
 Detective Sergeant William P. McCue arrived back in the city this afternoon from Springfield where he has been working for the past two days with federal and Springfield detectives, tracing Chapman's move- ments and activities in that city since his first apeparance early last July, when Shean said that he met him there.
 The local police, working in this city with federal and New York agents. are still carrying out their investigation of Chapman's reported visits to this city in the hope that evidence might be found that will involve more than Chapman and Shean in the Sunday morning affair.
 The machine in which the bandits came to the city Sunday morning has been traced to SteubenvilIe, O., where it was stolen on April 12, of his year. The car is g 192+ model nd has been driven over 19.vO0 niles. Detectives for the autonlr- l!le insurance underwriters exam 'Hed the numbers on the machine %csterday morling fnd in .,9tve of he fact that the serial number had hoen cleverly changed, they were able with the aid of a powerful mag nifying glass, to detect the original numbers. These were forwarded to the manufacturers and the owner of the machine traced. The machine was insured and the insurance com- pany had settled with the owner for the loss of it.
 The discovery of the fact by the officials working in Springfield arc that Chapman, under the name Of Waldo U. Miller, had purchased house at South Hadley from 8 min ister there, was taken by the police to be a confirmation of the tory told by Shean that he, Chapman and Robert Anderson, partner of Chap mans in the famous New York rob bery and sensational escape from the Atlanta prison, had been making plans for establishing a counterfeit ing plant some place outside of Springfield. The house was pur- chased on Sept. 19 this year.
 Had Counterfeit Plates.
 Shean told the police that Ander- son has been with Chapman on many occasions since last July and that he had an appointment to meet the fugitive murderer during the tnd sof this week. He said that Anderson was the one who Chapman told him was in possession of the plates and paraphernaia for raising s1 billI t' larger denominations.
 The gun found in the machi:s and which was supposed to have he- longed to Chapman, has been founl to be one of shipment eent to Cleveland, O., to George Wertheimer by Hartford concern in 1920. It is being traced out there by federal agents.
 With the discovery of the place where the machine was stolen and the revolver purchased. the police and federal agents in the west have increased their efforts in the hunt for Chapman for whom they have been searching and whose appear ance here is the first authentic news that the federal authorities have heard of him since his escape from the Atlanta federal penitentiary.
 shean's statement after his arrest here that he was government agent working from New York and his giving the police the name of a man alleged to be connected with the New York office of the depart ment of justice, gave rise to story that Chapman had colleague working with him, who was em- ployed in the New York office. This theory was thoroughly investigated. and the New York office found that Shean's story was pure fabrica- ton.