Evening star., 1945-11-25
vePrisoners
.FIeeD.C.. Jail in
Daylight Break.
Quinn, Bank Robber,
In Spectacular Bolt; !.
One Gives Up, 4Souqht
Pictures on Page A-5.)

Five prisoners armed only with
a crude saw bolted from the Dis
trict Jail between / and 2 pm.
yesterday in a bold daylight
break.
Four of the fugitives, including
Michael j. Quinn, Philadelphia
gangster convicted only last week
in connection with the National
Bank of Washington robbery, were
still at large early today.
The fifth man added strange
twist to the episode by walking into
the No. l precinct police station a
few hours later and giving himself
up.
Two Guards Suspended.
The five men escaped by saving
out bar OF window almost under
the noses of two guards, both Of
whom were suspended in the in
vestigation following the break.
Howard B. Gill, general superin-
tendent of District penal institu-
tions, and Claude o. Botkin, resident
superintendent, said they were
tipped off last week a break was
imminent.
Escaping with Quinn were John
Mansour. 30, of Brooklyn, who has
a long felony record; Clyde ]. Glenn
ents, 38, also well known to police
for robbery and two previous jail
breaks; William A Reed, rs, charged
with housebreaking, and Everett
Ray Snyder. 36, the man who chose
to give himself up.
The dash for freedom was ac.
complished in such leisurely fashion
that Snyder left the Jail at Nine
teenth and C streets Sc. fully half
an hour after the others, he told
police.
Inside Story Sought.
But the inside story of who en-
gineered the plot, arranged for de-
livery Of the saw and led the break
remained for investigators to un-
earth during a board of inquiry
hearing scheduled for tomorrow.
Discovery of the flight was made
about 2 pm. by Guard l.. A. How
ard, who had just relieved another
guard, H. F. Robinson, and noticed
something strange going on"
1t was even stranger than he
believed. Examining a window 10
feet from the floor in an area
known as the recreation room of
Cellblock No. /, he found a bar
neatly sawed in two. The bar was
pushed out at an angle. sharp
enough to allow large man to pass
through.
FBI Issues Alarm.
Mr.. Howard called the captain
OF the guard, c. E. Tucker, who no.
titled Mr.. Botkin and Mr.. Gill who
after investigating set up a general
alarm. Inspector Robert j. Barrett,
chief of detectives, said the police
were not notified until $40 pm. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation is
sued a nationwide alarm. The jail
yard was surrounded in an effort to
cut off the fugitives.
OAiC VI INi. DOthui lISl ACTIONS
was to suspend Guards B. E. Sam
Piles, who had returned to his Job
only a month ago after serving in
the Coast Guard. and Mr.. Robin
son, an Army veteran, who joined
the Jail staff two months ago.
The jail officials reconstructed
the break, with some assistance
from Snyder's statement, as fol-
lows:
At l pm, the 20 prisoners oc-
cupying the four tiers of cells in
Cell Block No. l, were let out to
the recreation space for their Gus
tomary hour of relaxation.
Guards on Elevated Runway.
At the end of this areaway and
about 10 feet above the floor is a
runway from which the two guards
could observe the prisoners move
ments.
But the architect who designed
cellblock No. back in 1872, at the
southwest corner of the jail, and
the men who made later improve
mentS, did not make it easier for
the guards to perform their duties.
Eighty feet from the guard run
was window and three feet from
the window, blocking the vision of
the pacing guards, was a vertical
ventilator duct.
This made it possible for the con-
spirators to place a mess hall table
under the window, top the table
with a chair and improvise a ladder
for reaching the window ledge.
Set. into the long window was a
second window pane which pivoted
outward far enough that a man
could slip through the opening be-
tSee JAIL BREAK, Page A-5)