Evening star., 1935-10-22
POLICE CLAIM TWO
CONFESSIONS END
BLACKJACK GANG
Girl and Man Caught in
Detroit Held After
Statements.
DROVE AWAY WITH BECK
DYING ON RUNNING BOARD
Three Serving Time, Two Held
for Trial-Began Preying
on D. C. in August.

Confessions that they participated
in the Bladensburg road robbery in
which the leader of the "Blackface"
gang was shot to death on the night
of October IL have been obtained. po-
lice say. from a girl and man brought
to Washington from Detroit today
The officers believe this completes the
roundup Of the notorious robber band.
The pair. l9-year-old Vivian Marie
jenkins, 900 block of New York ave-
nue.. and Edward Joseph Fitzpatrick,
Is. were quoted by police as admitting
they were in the car in which Morris
c. Beck, &c. gang leader, attempted
to escape after he was shot in the
hold-up of the Blue Bell barbecue
place. at 1885 Bladensburg road north
east
Police say the girl and Fitzpatrick
continued their flight after the dying
Beck was jolted from the running
board of their car into BladenSourg
road near the District line.
Escaped by Hitch-Hiking.
They hitch-hiked after abandoning
their automobile, but were tralled 10
Detroit by washington detectives. who
remained but jump behind the fugi-
tives for days.
Detective Earl Baker Of No. ! pre-
cinct shot Beck when the bandit ap-
peared in the barbecue stand with a
sawed-off shotgun and started out Of
the place with the cash register under
his arm. Beck dashed out with Baker
in pursuit. The policeman fired several
shots at the car into which Beck
leaped
The jenkins girl and Fitzpatrick
told Detective Sergt Frank Brass they
were powerless to help the dying man
because the policeman who had shot
him was still on their trail. Fit2pat-
rick. Brass said. explained he later
slowed his car down in the hope Beck
could hang on. The confessed bandit
said that in the meantime the girl was
lying fiat on the floor near his feet
and it was difficult to drive the auto
mobile. He said that when Beck
finally lost his hold and rolled to the
highway he supposed he was dead.
To Face Lineup.
The Jenkins girl and Fitzpatrick
were returned to Washington by Sergt.
Brass and policewoman. They were
fingerprinted and photographed at
headquarters and tonight will be
placed in the lineup for Identification
by the gangs victims.
The gang began operations here
about the first of August after staging
minor hold-ups in Fairfax County,
Va, detectives said. Liquor store and
restaurant robberies followed in rapid
succession.
The gang. which numbered about
eight members. rented garages in va
riouS parts of Washington, to which
they took stolen automobiles and used
as base of operations Police re-
covered a small arsenal of firearms
from one of the garages.
Beck and some of the other mem
bers disguised themselves as colored
men by smearing their faces with
burned cork, but several victims no
ticed rims of white flesh.
Passer-by Shot.
About the first of September the
gang held up Thompson's Restaurant
at 1109 Pennsylvania avenue and
sea food place in the 900 block of
Eleventh street southeast. During the
former hold-up gangster said to
have been Beck shot and slightly
wounded passerby who had reached
into his pocket for his tobacco. More
than 81, 100 was obtained in the two
hold-ups.
The Police Department got its first
"break in the case when Brass ar
rested Martin j. Walsh at Twelfth.
street and New York avenue. Walsh,
q former bootlegger, pleaded guilty.
Two Convicted.
Others arrested were Tommy Eng
lish, Ralph Jones, Walter Fourbush
and Elmer Cronise of Baltimore. Eng
lish and Jones were convicted and
the other two are awaiting trial. De-
tectives said these four sometimes op-
Grated with Beck, Fitzgerald and
Walsh and sometimes independently.
Police said the Jenkins girl had ad-
mitted at least partial participation
in several robberies.
In addition to Brass. detectives who
helped to break the gang were Elmer
Lewis, Robert Barrett and James Tol-
son Of the robbery squad.