The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1941-10-02
Confessed Murderer of Three
Is Captured i'm KennewiCk
Local patrolman, follow
ing bunch, shadows the
criminal, even before his
crime was known.

crime was known.
A policemaniS bunch" caught a
murderer here last week.
Because Night Patrolman Reuben
GeSt tok an instant dislike to John
Sorto, confessed murderer Of the
three people who had befriended
him at Hermiston, he was watched
and finally captured.
Sorto's capture and confession
clears up several other incidents,
which have been worrying local po-
lice for some time too. He confessed
to having been one Of the hangerson
with the carnival which played
here as well as at HermiSton. And
while he was here after the murder
he broke into the Kennewick Cash
Produce Co., tapped the till and got
a couple Of dollars. He was also
lookout man for the barefoot pants
pocket burglar, who had worked
Walla Walla, PaSco and in Kenne-
wick. ...
So, following the bunch OF the
patrolman, has stopped a miniature
crime wave Of sort.
81 didn't like the way that guy
looked from the first time I set eyes
on him." Gest said, as he told the
exciting story of the mans capture.
II had bunch that there was
J something wrong and that was a
whole day before We knew about
the murders at Hermiston," he
said. se
What happened was this: Gest
was cruising up the main street late
Thursday night. When about In
front Of the printing office he no
ticed a stranger crossing the street
from the direction OF the Kennewick
Hotel TO the Kennewick Auto Co. He
said he noticed the man carrying his
left arm in a peculiar manner, and
he continued to watch him go down
the street until he got near Bricks
service station. About there the
man disappeared.
Gest then turned the car around,
came back to the printing office,
where he parked, got out and went
to the used car lot to investigate.
He tried both lots, looked in the
service station pit and finally went
TO the creamery, but found nothing.
Then he was called to the Bridge
View Inn to quell fight, was gone
about hah an hour and came back
just in time to see the fellow being
taken up the stairs at the hotel He
went in, questioned the clerk and
examined the register, found the
man had nisspelled the name John
johnson, which he had signed. This
still further strengthened Costs
hunch that the man was phoney.
Earlier in the evening he had
noticed the car parked In the city
parking lot, with the Oregon IL
cense plat. After leaving the hotel,
he passed the parking lot and dis
covered the foreign car was in the
same place, but that the lights were
on. He examined it, took the num-
Der and also took down the name
on the card on the steering wheel
Kenneth GorSuch, OF Hermiston. But
of course, there was yet no word con-
corning the Oregon tragedy since
the murder was not discovered until
the middle of the following morn
ing.
Gest,s bunch persisted and all
that day he pondered the situation,
but with nothing but the odd cir
cumstances to go on.
In the evening when he came on
duty, he was reading the story Of the
three murders at Hermiston and
noted with start that one OF the
victims was named Kenneth Cor
such. He reported to Chief Ker-
shaw and then got in touch with
Deputy Sheriff Harry Cochran.
Checking again at the hotel they
found that the suspect had slept all
day, leaving the hotel at about six.
Leaving word to be notified Instant
ly the suspect returned, they got In
touch with the Oregon officers, who
made record run from Pendleton.
All available officers from nearby
districts were summoned, and Sher-
If Richter came down from ProSSer.
There were a couple of dozen Off
GERS ready to cover every road,
search every car, train and high
way for the missing man, when
word came from the hotel that the
man had returned and gone to his
room.
Richter and a couple OF Oregon
officers went upstairs while four
more stood guard on the lower floor.
Other officers were posted about
with Gest guarding the suspicious
car.
Sorto heard the officers coming I'D
the stairs and opened his door to see
what the comotion was, but before
he could unlimber his gun, Richter
had him by the throat and he was
overpowered and handcuffed. he
had taken off his coat and was
about to go to bed. -.
II never was so tickled and ex-
cited in my hfe," Gest said, "as they
called TO me that they had got
the man." 4
Sorto was taken to the police
station and questioned. At first he
protested his entire ig-
norance, threw a couple of fits and
and jabbered. A doctor was
called, who after examination, de-
clared the man was entirely normal,
taking the fits Then the question
ing brought forth a confession. in