Evening star., 1953-03-18
Invitation to Crime
By Miriom Gutenberg

1AA4 4AO Woo OHVAOAoAy WAC 0OoA-
est burglar in town. The story
of the busy bandit is told to
illustrate what happens here to
a man accused Of a series Of
crimes.
Night after night. citizens re-
ported, and police investigated.
Their man hit fast and hit often.
It was always the same-the
tell-tale Jimmy marks on the
door, the apartment ransacked,
the quick getaway.
The harassed sixth precinct
policemen drew a pattern of his
operations. They charted the
times of day, the periods of the
month, the streets he had visited.
A six-man team was relieved
of other duties to cope with the
sixth precincts own house.
breaker. Seven or eight other
sixth precinct men volunteered
to come back on their own time
in a desperate effort to be in the
right place at the right time.
About $50 police man-hours in
the sixth precinct alone were
devoted to the search Of this
man.
Pattern Clicks.
On November 30, 1851. Pvt.
Teddy e. Thames Of No. s noticed
a colored man laden with Christ
mas packages emerge from a
duplex at 1923 New Hampshire
avenue NV. and get into a
waiting Cadillac.
Pvt. Thanos was a member Of
the six-man team. The pattern
painstakingly charted to trace
the houSebreaker's operations
was fresh in his mind. Every
thing seemed to fit-time of day,
duplex, neighborhood. So he
drove up beside the Cadillac to
ask few questions.
The man at the wheel didn't
stop to answer. He raced away
from the policeman. Mean
while, the woman in the car
was tossing packages out the
window. After q wild 20-block
chase, the man jumped out and
started to run. The policeman'S
revolver convinced him he'd bet
ter halt.
The man was Jesse Rudolph
Kelley, 81, and the woman was
introduced as his wife, Marie.
While KPelley was being ques-
toned at the station, a house,
breaking report came in. It
was from 1928 New Hampshire
avenue NV. The complainant,
Mrs. Catherine Overstreet, was
asked to come In and see If she
could identify the property. In
the collection of packages taken
from the Cadillac were some
towels with names on them. Mrs.
Overstreet, police said, immedi-
ately identified them as gifts
she had bought for Christmas.
Another Identification.
While Mrs. Overstreet was
picking out her property. an
other housebreaking report came
in. The complainant, Nathan
I. Volk of 5108 Second street
NV, also was invited to the
station house. Police said he
identified the rest Of the prop
erty.
A check Of the car. according
to police, revealed a watch in
the glove compartment. traced
to Arnold Peace Of II Gallatin
street NE; a tire iron also
handy for jimmying doors, pair
of gloves, a butter knife and a
screw driver.
With their chart Of house.
breaking operations. police be-
gan questioning Kelley. They
said he admitted innumerable
cases. Jubilant police said they
believed the capture Of Kelley
would solve some so cases in the
sixth precinct and an equal
number in neighboring precincts.
Their man already had q long
police record, and they were
adding new entries by the min
ute.
In the weeks that followed the
police jubilation was succeeded
first by disappointment, later by
diScouragement and finally by
something akin to disguSt-par-
ticularly on the part Of the men
who had volunteered their of
hours to hunting the house
breaker.
Backtracking Failed.
First, they tried and failed in
Municipal Court to get permis-
sion to let Kelley accompany
them on what they were sure
was q return trip to the scenes
Of the housebreakings. As stand
ard operating procedure. they al
ways try to take q housebreaker
back over his route so he can
describe for police and each vic
tim his method Of entry. what
he took and from where he took
it. That way both police and
the complainants can be salts
fed they have the right man.
Police explained it had been
too dark to take Kelley around
the night Of his arrest and they
had to bring him in for arraign-
ment as quickly as possible the
next day.
A Municipal Court judge ex-
planned that once police bring Q
prisoner to court his custody
passes to the court and the
United States marshal. For po-
lice to get temporary release OF
q prisoner to take him back for
further questioning requires .
judges permission, which is sell
dom granted.
Free Again.
The next blow was the reduc-
tion Of Kelley,s bond from $15.-
900 to $4,000. Kelley was free
again. Coincidentally. the 10th