Evening star., 1949-11-28
One Of 4 Prisoners
Is Recaptured After
Break at Hager5town

OAAC VI AOo1 ~ AooAAC1o WAAo Co
capped last night from the Hagers-
town CMd) jail has been recap
tured at Harrisburg, Pa, in a
stolen truck.
The Washington County sher-
IFS Office said, George Watts, %,
of the District of Columbia, was
alone when troopers searching for
the four escapes stopped a stolen
doughnut truck he was driving.
Police said the owner of the truck
did not know it had been stolen
until notified this morning that
Watts had used it for his getaway.
The three still at large include
David Corners, %, also of Wash
ington. who was arrested in the
District last October and was
quoted by police as Dragging that
he had broken into 64 Washington
homes.
Escaped Unnoticed.
Conners and Watts, together
with James Martin and Donald
Turner, both 20, of Hagerstown
slipped out Of the jail unnoticed
by guards until another prisoner
them missing. Although
the quartet was believed to be un-
armed at the time of the break,
tfle sberiff's Office described the
men as possibly dangerous" and
broadcast lookout to 13 States
and the District. Conners and
Watts were awaiting trial this
week on a charge of breaking into
a Hagerstown automobile service
store and the other two were to
be tried in a few days on auto
theft charges.
Washington County Sheriff
Joseph D. Baker said he was in
the turkeys Office with four Jail
guards about Z o'clock last night
when the prisoners escaped.
Sheriff Baker said q trusty, Har-
vey Mehaffey, admitted letting the
prisoners out Of their cells by
manipulating a latch accessible
only from the Jail corridor.
Mehaffey claimed he freed them
because they threatened him,
Sheriff Baker said.
Unscrewed Window Bars.
Freed from their cells, the pris-
oners then unscrewed a set of
metal bars on a second floor win
dow and stepped through the
window to the scaffolding of a
new jail annex being constructed.
It was an easy leap from the
scafolding to the jail yard where
they got q pick and other con-
struction tools to force open the
jail gate lock, the sheriff said.
The sheriff's Office reported that
a Hagerstown resident had seen
three men believed to be the
escapees headed for the railroad
tracks early last night. They said
Watts apparently left his COM
panions right after the break, took
the truck and drove 60 miles to
Harrisburg before his recapture.
Corners was free under 81 900
bond awaiting grand jury action
on the District housebreaking
charge when he was arrested with
Watts at Hagerstown and charged
with breaking into the automobile
agency there.
Addresses Given.
The last Washington address
given by Conners was the 500
block Of Eighth street Sc. Watts
last known address was Seward
Square Sc.
: Washington police described
Corners as handsome. and said he
was q smooth operator" He was
50 methodical and neat that many
home e-owners here didn't know
they had been robbed until police
checked with them after hearing
Gamers confession, police said.
His favorite method of opera
tion, police said, was to call atl
the home of an intended victim.
If no one answered the door he
would often double check the res
idence by telephone. The tele-
phone calling is what led to his
arrest in Washington, police said.
Conners formerly worked at a