Evening star., 1932-01-23
BANDITS ROB nine;
ONE SUSPECT HELD
Taxi Driver, With Weapon
Pressed Against His Side,
Calls Policeman.

Nine armed hold-ups yesterday and
last night in"widely separated sections
of the city today resulted in an exten-
sive search for the robbers.
Meanwhile, suspect, who was cap
tured through the courage of taxicab
driver in disregarding a threatening
| gun and calling police, was identified
| in connection with one Of the crimes,
police say.
Six of the hold-ups reported were OF
| storekeepers. The other victims were
pedestrians, two of whom were beaten
by the robbers.
Similarity of tactics at two of the
| stores, where the hold-up men fired
shots into the floor to intimidate the
| proprietors, led police to believe the
| same robbers figured in both cases.
Captured After Chase.
The man arrested was captured by
Pvt. w. E. Scott of the third pre-
cinct. near Eighteenth and S streets
when Edward G. DUNCAN, tax1cab
! driver, put on his brakes when he
sighted the officer and shouted for him
| to arrest the two men who had COM
mandeered his cab after holding up
store At the time, one OF the men
was holding a gun against the drivers
side. DUNCAN explained he decided to
take a chance" believing If he were
shot the men at least would be ar
rested.
Both of the men in the cab jumped
out and started to run, but Scott over
hauled one after pursuing him for
block. Taken to the police station the
t1tH adIrnCc
James F. Donovan, 33, of the 2l00 block
of N street. This morning he is said
by Capt. Edward j. Kelly, commander
of the third precinct, to have been
identified by DUNCAN and Mrs. Lena
Katz, 1859 Twenty-third street, as one
of the pair which held up Mrs. Katzs
store last night.
DUNCAN said he picked UP two men
at Twenty-f1rst and K streets and was
told to drive them to TWenty-third and
N streets. One of the duo went into
the store and robbed Mrs. Katz OF $50.
Upon his return the other man showed
a gun in Dungans ribs and command
ed him to drive on, DUNCAN told po-
lice.
Storekeeper Robbed.
The first hold-up reported last eve
ming was at 2133 Ward place, where
David Turshinsky, storekeeper, was
robbed of $50 by two men. The rob-
bers drove away in taxicab operated
by Benjamin Freenfield, whom they
forced to obey their commands at the
point of pistol They fired one shot
from the taxi window to impress the
driver. Turshinsky said one OF the
men fired bullet into the floor of the
store, evidently to intimidate him,
shortly after they entered.
Similar tactics were employed by two
men, who early yesterday robbed the
Liberty Food Shop of the 900 block OF
Fourteenth street of $50. Two shots
were fired into the floor there.
Shortly before II o'clock last night,
Norman Parker, in the Parker Drug
Store, North Capitol street and Rhode
Island avenue, was held up at pistol
point by three men, who obtained
total of $50 from two cash registers.
Parker told police the robbers covered
him and Mrs. L. B. Edwards Of "a
Rhode Island avenue with an automatic
while they went through the registers.
Others Report Hold-ups.
The two other storekeepers held up
! last night were Milton Weber, 1889
Eleventh street, and Mrs. Helen Hoft-
by two armed colored men. Weber re-
ported loss of $25 and Mrs. Hott-
berg $40.
william E. Hyman, 1o5 G street
southeast, an employe of St. Eliza
beth's Hospital, was beaten when he
told three colored men who held him
up at the north end Of the Anacostla
Bridge that he had no money. He
said one of the trio struck him with
a stone.
William Carpenter, 1902 Sixth street
southwest, reported he was beaten by
two white men who held him up at
Sixth and K streets southwest, robolng
him of Sc.
While about to get into his automo-
bile, parked in front of 933 L street,
| last night, John K. Poetzman, New
York avenue, was accosted by four OF
five colored men, he told police, one
of them thrust a gun against his rlps
| and demanded his smoney. Poetzlnadl
handed over pocketbook containing w.
| hoping to save second one with S4o.
'You win have to do better tnah
that" one of the bandits informed MN,
and Poetzman was forced to give up
the rest of his money.