Evening star., 1939-12-08

Wave of Freak Crimes Plaques
District Police Force
HoIdup Victim, I
Hacker Who Wouldn't
Quit Provide Problems

several freak crimes plagued po-
lice for q solution today.
After they find the would-be
robber who couldn't convince a
grocer he wasn't kidding, they
might take up the case OF the
robbed and beaten hacker who went
back to work as soon as he regained
consciousness.
Or go on q still hunt for 100 stolen
ducks-all wooden decoys-while at
the same time looking for the owner
Of the canned blackberries re-
covered by Sergt. Mark H. Rasp-
berry of the park police.
Grocer Robert B. Shrier thought
it was only an oft-repeated Joke
being pulled on him once more
when he heard the command, "Stick
'em up!" last night as he read q
newspaper in his store at 734 Third
street NV.
Went on With Reading.
He went on with his reading and
continued to listen to the radio, for
he was accustomed to friends un-
availing attempts to startle him by
using the holdup mans stock OPEN
ing line.
When Mr.. Shrier saw the muzzle
of a revolver slide over the top of
his paper, however, he decided it
might be worthwhile to glance Up
Behind the weapon was a tall colored
man, about 40 years old, who re-
peated his instruction and demanded
money in reply to the grocer's query
as to what he wanted.
Determined to protect the $50 in
his cash register and 500 in a tin
box under the counter, Mr.. Shrier
told police, he made as if to comply
but reached for his own gun, which
he found after a bit of anxious
fumbling. He pointed it at the
robber, who fed, closely pursued by
Mr.. Shrier. The latter fired one shot
into the air, but the holdup man did
not halt and made his escape.
During the hold-up attempt, Mr..
Shrier's 14-year-old daughter Betty
was attempting to sneak out of the
store to summon aid, and 6-year -old
Bobby Shrier was standing beside
his father.
Mr.. Shrier believes he could have
shot the robber but his daughter
circled into the line of fire in an
effort to reach the door.
Beaten by Two Men.
Charles w. Combs. IS, of 416
Warner street NV. the cab driver,
said two colored men riding in his
cab beat him on the head with some
blunt instrument early today near
Seventeenth street and Kalorama
road NV. The men entered his
cab at Sixteenth street and Colum-
bia road NV.
Mr.. Combs stopped the cab to de-
fend himself, and was knocked un-
conscious, he said. He regained his
senses on the payment beside his
cab, minus $720. The hacker went
to a nearby restaurant and washed
up, then took his cab back on the
| street and picked up a fare.
The fare advised him to go to q
hospital
Combs, who weighs over 200
pounds, agreed with some reluctance
At the hospital he was treated for q
fractured nose and five stitches were
taken to close a wound in his fore
head.
At police headquarters late yester.
day Douglas E. Bullock of 1922
Seventeenth street NV. reported q
thief took 100 decoy ducks from his
garage in the 2700 block of Twenty
eighth street NV.
He estimated their value at $3.50
but expressed more concern over the
cost to wild life threatened by the
theft than the loss of the decoys.
Box of Blackberries.
Sergt. Raspberry collected 48 jars
of blackberries last night shortly
after he hailed colored man he
saw carrying a big box through the
1 Mall near Madison and Third
streets NV. The man dropped the
box and fled.
Mrs. Marcelle Brown told police
that her mother, Mrs. Hester Hevie
of Arlington, Va. lost $425 in 20
plain white envelopes near the Fiji
teenth street entrance of the Bu-
reau of Engraving and Printing
yesterday.
Police were investigating the re-
II WE WILL Re