Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-01-20
CATCHES
CHECK PASSER
IN FOOT RACE

Excitement reigned at the corner
of G avenue and Tenth street yes
terday Just at noon when Frank Lee
an employe of the Rogers Brothers
grocery chased a man from the
grocery store, made flying tackle
and caught him by the ankles just
as he was about to dodge into the
alley on 11th street.
A crowd quickly formed and other
men ran from the store and pounceo
upon the PROSTATE figure OF the
fugitive. He was raised to mis- feet
and marched to the G avenue corner
In the meantime someone had phoned
for the police patrol and in the
excitement told the officers to come
to G avenue and Ninth street.
The captors finally led the prisoner
to the police station where he was
booked on charges of passing bad
checks. George Rogers, Of Rogers
Brothers grocery, told a reporter that
the man, whose right name is be-
lieved to be B. B. Hopkins, had
bought small quantity CT groceries
in the store and had written a check
for five dollars in payment.
Rogers said he questioned the man
about the check and finally picked
up the phone to call the bank to
see if the check were good He said
that Hopkins then grasped his hand
which held both the telephone re-
ceiver and the check in question and
told him that he would pay cash
for the groceries. Rogers said his
suspicious we're further aroused by
this and he persisted in his intention
to call the bank.
He related that Hopkins then
grappled with him and secured the
check. Rogers said that he hit Hop
kins, knocking him to the floor Of
the store on the opposite side of the
counter from where he was standing
and that when Hopkins came up he
was running for the front door so
that Rogers threw bottle of pickles
which struck the fleeing man between
the shoulders and bounced off, break
ing a $50 plate glass window.
AS Hopkins hit the street and
turned the corner, Frank Lee, clerk
in the store, leaped from the side
door of the establishment and took
after Hopkins finally throwing him
for a loss at the corner of the
alley. Search of the man failed to
bring the questioned check to light
and Rogers relates that he went into
the street later on and found it
crumpled in the ditch.
The check that Hopkins gave
Rogers and which he admitted to
officers he wrote in the store, was
signed A. E.. Anderson and Hopkins
gave his address as 824 Fifth street.
Officers found that he roomed at
a hotel on Seventh street and that
there are nearly a dozen checks out
in various stores in the city bearing
which appear to be in the
same handwriting as that used on
the Rogers check,
Hopkins. who is a young man, is
we'll known in the city, having been
employed here as meat cutter in
a butcher shop and later by a local
lumber company. Officers expressed
at the discovery that
the youth had been able to pass
checks under aliases in stores in
which he las made many purchases.
Hopkins admitted having written
several Of the checks shown him by
the officers but denied authorship of
many of the others, that appeared
to be, in the same hand writing.
Different names were useG on the
checsk. Following the arrest yes,
terday afternoon number of busi-
4A ctr
and asserted that they would posi-
lively identify Hopkins as having
passed bad checks in their establish
ments. That he is the man Who
passed check on the Murphy-Pa
Plumbing company store about two
weeks ago was the assertion OF Lynn
Palmer, who at that time alarmed
the officers and gave a description
which tallies with that of Hopkins.
Officers attempted yesterday to
connect Hopkins with some Of the
many robberies not being those of
many robberies that have occurred
here recently but the finger print test
failed, the prints taken at the vari-
ous robberies not being those of
Hopkins The youth, when confronted
with the bale of bad checks by
Deputy Sheriff O. A. Ash would say
more than to nod his head
and mutter yes or no when asked
if he had passed certain checks.
He nodded an affirmative when
asked if he would be willing to admit
that he had passed certain of the
pile of checks but was as emphatic
IN his denials in other instances. One
check. passed at the International
laundry for rs cents in payment of
a laundry bill was investigated and
when Charles Nichols, proprietor of
the laundry told officers that the
laundry mark of the man who passed
the check would prove its origin
absolutely ana gave them copy of
this mark thea. Officers went to the
room occupied by Hopkins. and found
the handkerchiefs that had sbeen in
the laundry at the time the check
was given. Presented with this eyi5
dence the young man admitted that
he passed this check also
A deputy sheriff from Bisbee ar
rived and on looking over the many
signatures that all looked SO much
alike he pulled another worthless
check from his pocket and added it
: