Evening star., 1953-04-28
Police Prepare
96MoreCases
Against Drew
i Youth on Probation
7 Faces New Action
In Housebreokinqs

Cnle1 OF detectives +. f.. scott
said today 96 more housebreak-
Ing cases against Elmer H. Drew
will be turned over to the United
States Attorneys Office by police
for possible presentation to the
grand jury.
Drew is the 20-year-old who
pleaded guilty to the only house.
breaking case on which he was
indicted and was given probation
last Friday by Judge Edward M.
Curran. He had been charged
by police with 102 housebreak-
ings although only one case was
presented to the grand jury.
United States Attorney Leo. A.
Rover wrote Police Chief Robert
v. Murray yesterday saying that
only one case had been turned
over by police for action by his
Office.
Initials Mark Cases.
Mr.. Rover said he wanted to
know if more cases could be
brought against the youth and
also why the letters "g. j."
showed up beside 80 cases in the
youths police record.
The prosecutor said that ordi-
narily these initials mean the
case has been handed to the
grand jury division of his Office
or presented to the grand jury.
Inspector Scott said he had
questioned Precinct Detective
Mahlon E. Pitts of the third
precinct. who handled the
Drew case. He said Detec-
tive Pitts told him that
he had mentioned to the grand
jury clerk, to Assistant United
States Attorney Paul F. Leonard
and to the grand jury itself that
there were other cases against
Drew.
Order Out on Initiating.
Chief Murray told newsmen
today there is an order on the
books cautioning police against
marking cases "g. j." unless they
are offered to the grand jury.
He said, however, he will issue
q new and stronger order in
the next few days forbidding po-
licemen to "g. j." on any ar
rest book unless the case has
actually been offered for pres
entation to the grand jury. ac-
companied by a statement of
facts.
AS for the Drew case. Chief
Murray declared, 1--WE feel all
those cases should have been
presented and we will now offer
them to the United States at
torne5's Office" -
II have stated again and again
that prisoners should be charged
only in cases where the police
man has evidence. In instances
where no property is recovered
but the prisoner has admitted
breading in an has made the
admission in the presence Of the
complainant, it seems to me
there Is enough evidence to
present the case to a grand jury.
Inspector Scott said that the
police procedure in presenting
cases to grand juries recently
had been frightened up but at
the time the Drew case was
presented police were not taking
all their cases to the grand jury,
because they knew only a few
would be accepted.
The refusal of the grand jury
division to accept more than a
few cases recently was empha-
sized by The Star in showing
that prisoners accused of a series
Of crimes ultimately are pun
tshed for only one or two.
Statement Now Offered.
Inspector Scott said the pro-
cedure now in effect in the
Detective Bureau and among
precinct detectives is to pre-
pare a statement Of facts
in each case and offer it
to the grand jury division. De-
tectives. under this procedure,
must then note who they gave
the statement to, at what time
and on what day and what was
done about it.
There won't be any trouble
in the future about that" In
spector Scott said. "Over a Pc
riod of years, the habit had
grown up Of taking over only
a few cases because the detec-
tiveS knew only a few would be
accepted. They prepared state
mentS of fact in each case but
didn't always take them to the
grand jury division. Now they
will"
Evidence Varies.
These statements Of fact give
what evidence police have accu-
mulated and that varies from
case to case, Inspector Scott ex-
planned.
Where there is a housebreaker
who has been operating in one
area and uses the same method
in each case. he explained, prop
erty may be recovered in three
or four cases, the defendant may
admit others in the presence
Of the complainant and finger
prints may be spotted in several
others. That may leave five OF
six cases In the same area where
the only evidence Is that the de-
fendant admits he has been
operating in that area but cant
remember the location of each
place.
In the Drew case, Inspector
Scott said, property was recov.
cred in only one case, Drew
pointed out the location Of Other
housebreakingS, admitted some
in the presence Of complainant!
and told police he had commit.
ted a couple hundred house.
breakings in the past few years
He said he had sold the Stoler