Evening star., 1950-07-28
Judge Imposes
; 10 II Years
In Union HoIdup
Kirkland Sentences
Cot Campbell, Cites
His Career of Crime

Wilmer D. (Cat) Campbell, who
was convicted in the 1900 holdup
of a labor union here, today was
sentenced to 3-to-11 year prison
term by Judge James r. Kirkland
in District Court.
Along with this penalty for the
oft-convicted 22-year-old defend
ant, Judge Kirkland gave a stern
recital of the youths career in
crime. He was called the two-gun
man of gang of juveniles arrest
ed last spring.
Meanwhile, Judge Edward A
Tamm imposed sentences ranging
up to 81 years in four cases in
volving separate armed robberie.
here recently.
Campbell, a resident of Defense
Heights, Md, was convicted last
week of robbing the Sheet Metal
Workers local at 1017 K street
NV. last March. Joseph c. Dan
ner, 26, of the 1900 block oil
Evarts street NE, and Byron
Heslop, %, of Defense Heights,
were acquitted, although the
prosecution had branded them as
the brains" and lookout" re-
spectively.
Juvenile ViciOusness Noted.
Commenting that the evidence
against Campbell was "over-
whelming." the judge told Camp
bell that "you and your group"
were the subject of recent re-
port by the Washington Criminal
Justice Association.
This report stated that of par
ticular difficulty during the last
year has been the operation of
vicious juvenile gangs" Judge
Kirkland pointed out.
One of the things this court
will never understand is why you
people think you can come here
in this compact. organized COM
munity, the citadel of our Gov
ernment and of the entire world
with the idea that it's pushover, >
the judge declared. IF there is
any place better protected against
crime than this city I certainly
don't know of it,"
He then sketched Campbell's
history. Beginning in 1914, he
said, Campbell was sentenced as
a juvenile to the Oakland pa
Industrial School for burglary
but escaped. Later the same veal
he enlisted in the Navy, but while
stationed at cambridge, Md, he
was convicted of armed robbery
court martialed in 1945 and SEN
fenced to five years.
Served One Year of Term
FAfter serving one year in a
Navy prison he was released from
service with bad conduct dis
charge and nine months later was
arrested in Minnesota for grand
larceny. He served three years of
a one-to-10 year sentence on that
conviction, was released last Feb
ruary 81, and in less than month
participated in the union stickup.
Campbell'S only comment dur
ing the proceedings was to request
the judge to order him sent to
Lorton Reformatory. Judge Kirk
land refused, just as he turned
down the defendants offer to plead
guilty to another hofdup here for
which he still faces trial with
Danner. This job was the $349
robbery of the ninth-floor office
Of the Fruit Growers Express Co
OH April IL.
The parade of defendants be-
fore Judge -Tamm, all of them
accused of using force in one way
OF another during the offenses
was topped by the 7-to-21 veal
imprisonment of Andrew Carlos
Ware, %, colored, of the 1906
block of Tenth street NV: Alone
with co-defendant not yet tried
Ware was charged with the ST ,06s
holdup of the North Carolina Mu-
tual Life Insurance Co., 2002
Eleventh street NV. on April IL
Fired at Policeman.
Judge Tamm cited the charge
that when Ware fled the scene
pursued by Policeman Thomas F.
Walker he hid behind fence and
fired at the officer. Pvt. Walker
was not hit, but Ware was charged
with assault with intent to kill
along with the robbery count.
Wilson E. Anderson, 10, colored.
of the 200 block of Florida avenue
NV, was sentenced to four to
nine years on charges that he held
up three High Ice Cream Stores
last March and robbed them of
more than $100. He was also con-
victed on a separate count of pistol
carrying.
In two other cases in which
physical violence accompanied the
roboerles. James H. Thurston, 80.
OF the 1900 block of E street Sc,
and Rufus Green, jr., %, colored.
OF the 900 block of Columbia road
NV, each got terms of two to
six years.
Thurston hit woman with his
f1st while snatching her purse and
when cornered in an alley by three
passersby, turned on them with a
knife before police arrested him.
Green was convicted of slugging
a colored cab driver over the head
with an iron pipe and then rob-
bing him of his days receipts at
pistol point.