The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-04-24
MURDER STARTS POLICE
ROUNDUP OF GANGSTERS;
MYSTERY SHR0UDS Death
George Lewis Was Victim
of Bullet, Autopsy
Reveals.
FOUND NEAR HOSPITAI
One Suspect Arrested; Held
in Solitary; Mum on
Tragedy.

Gangster gun play caused the
death Of George Lewis, 26, of 818
Union street, found wounded in an
automobile in front of city hospital
Tuesday night, police were con-
vinced by new facts uncovered to-
Gay.
The movements Of two known
gangs of rum runners and bootleg
gers were being traced, one associate
of Lewis was sought, and another
was under arrest i'll solitary con-
flnement on vagrancy charge, un-
able to provide $4,000 bond.
Police believed that some story
of gangster quarrel probably involv-
ing a case of hijacking, would be
uncovered if they get to the bottom
of the murder Whether they would
appear problematical, for the un-
derWorld clans met detectives with
tightly closed lips.
Death by Bullet
It was not until Cornor G. H.
Keever performed an autopsy this
that it was discovered that
Lewis had died Of a bullet wound in
his head, instead of from a blow
from blunt instrument, as the
on his head first indi-
Gated.
The bullet was found buried in
the skull. It had been fired from
either a 80 or .32-caliber high
powered rifle or automatic pistol.
1t was made by the Western Auto
Cartridge Company of East Alton,
III. This slender cleW was about
as close as detectives had gotten to
picking up a real trail to the mur-
derer.
Lewis movements Of Tuesday gave
the police little aid. His mother,
Mrs Frances Lewis, with whom he
and his father, Alonzo, lived, said
that she last saw him about o'clock
Tuesday afternoon. He came to
the house then with a heavy set man
and child, neither of whom she
recognized, stayed but a moment and
drove away.
The mother said she knew little
of her sons movements while away
from home. He was out of a job
and seldom mentioned what he was
doing.
About 9 o'clock Tuesday night,
Robert f. Kinneman, night SWITCH
board operator at city hospital, re-
ceived a telephone call from a male
voice: "A man has been injured
and is lying in his car in front Of
the hospital"
Kinneman ran out and found
Lewis, unconscious. He died at 2;30
a. m.
The car was not Lewis. The lie
cense was issued to George Nc
Henry, formerly Of 1925 South Me-
ridian street, who has been a pal
of Lewis lately Police still were
for McHenry.
Quizzing all Lewis known asso-
ciates, detectives picked up Howard
81, Negro, 914 North Capt.
tol avenue, who several weeks ago
was arrested with Lewis in the same
found. Lewis was fined 81 and sent
to Jail for a day for stealing license
plates at that time.
Harding would not talk much. He
is the man held in solitary cell.
One factor which interested de-
tectjves was the story that Lewis
formerly operated with a gang on
the south side, but lately had shifted
his allegiance to a group which
hangs out around the 900 block Of
North Illinois street.
The mystery was deepened by a
report today from Mrs. Lewis, that
while she was away last night some-
one ransacked her bedrooms, but
took nothing of value.
Surviving Lewis, besides his par
ents are three brothers, Glen, Ken
meth and Clovis, and two sisters,
Mrs. Dorothy Hatfield and Mrs.
Pearl Patton, all of Indianapolis.