Evening star., 1935-01-29
Leader of Three Confesses
Freely to 18 Store
Robberies.
ADDITIONAL CRIMES
LAID TO PRISONERS
Victims Will View Group at
Lineup Tomorrow-Money
Cache Found.

The trio apprehended in series Of
week end raids and accused of prey
ing upon local and nearby chain gro
ceries for more than two months, was
cleared by police today of any con-
nection with the $1,000 hold-up and
twin slayings at the Chevy Chase
Lake car barn eight days ago.
Ballistic tests made by Lieut.. John
Fowler proved the .32-caliber auto
matte taken from one of the colored
youths was not the weapon used in
the brutal murders of James Mitchell
and Emory Smith Capital Transit Co.
employees, while detectives said the trio
has given satisfactory accounts of
their activities at the time of the
slayingS.
IS RObberies Admitted.
Eighteen armed robberies of chain
store groceries. including one in the
Sanitary Co.'s branch on Brookville
road in Chevy Chase, Md, two weeks
ago, have been freely admitted by
Emerson Bentley. 17-year-old ring
leader of the bandit gang, detectives
said The automatic was found in
Bentley's home, at 1900 G street
northeast.
The youth, detectives said, boast
fully produced a list showing 18 places
that he and his companions robbed
and volunteered to take police on a
tour of the city to point out a num-
ber of other places which they had
held up, but which he did not recall
at the time
Investigators said that Solomon
Burkley. 18, who lived with his brother
in the janitors quarters at 1903 Six
teenth street, and Wilbur Henry
Dodson. 18. of 118 Seaton place, also
have confessed to accompanying Bent
ley on his SortieS. DodSon went with
Bentley on several hold-ups, while
Burkley aided him in the remainder
OF the jobs, according to police.
No Resistance Offered.
A .32- -.20-caliber pistol was seized
when Burkley was arrested, officers
reported. Both the pistol and the
automatic were fully loaded, but
neither Burkley nor Bentley offered
any resistance. 1t was the finding
of the automatic anc a quantity of
cartridges identical with those used
in the killing of Mitchell and Smith
that led police to suspect the youths
in the Chevy Chase Lake case.
Members of the Detective Bureau
raiding party that arrested the trio
recovered $13786 from a cache in
the southwest section Of the city late
yesterday. Included in the loot was
$72 in bills and S65.86 in coin.
Police predicted that nearly two
score hold-ups of grocery stores will
be traced to the trio before the in
vestigation of its activities has been
concluded
Victims to View Prisoners.
Witnesses in more than 40 such
robberies that have occurred since the
bandits began their operations in No.
vembeT will examine them for identi-
fication purposes at the regular 7:30
o'clock lineup at police headquarters
tomorrow night.
The hold-up victims were to have
looked the trio over last night, but it
was decided to postpone the examina-
ton to give police sufficient time to
contact all of the witnesses.
Montgomery County police have
sworn out warrants for Bentley and
Burkley in the Chevy Chase store rob-
berry, in which bandits fled with S45.
and detainers will be placed against
them SO they will be turned over to
that force after local authorities have
disposed of their cases.