Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-08

saw Two men acClng SuSplclOuSlE
at Sixth and K streets NE On
a bunch, they grabbed the pair
The two prisoners admitted they
were lookouts for a man then
rifling a doctors Office.
The rockies quickly called for
help and the block was sur
rounded. Meanwhile. the house.
breaker in an attempt to escape
had broken into a woman's home
in the same block. The police
closed in. He was captured and
5000 worth of property from the
woman's home and 500 worth
from the doctors office was re-
covered.
| 1t turned out that two OF the
three men were already being
sought. Their arrest cleared up
II housebreakings in the Ninth
Precinct and one in the Four
teenth Precinct.
A vicious purse-snatcher had
been at large in Southeast Wash
ington.
On January % at Sixth street
and Independence avenue Sc. he
knocked a 60-year-old woman to
! the ground and dragged her
across the street as she struggled
to hold onto her bag. She went
to the hospital with a sprained
shoulder, Two days later, a Naval
Gun Factory employee was beaten
to the ground in a purse-snatch-
ing attempt in the 200 block of
Eighth street Sc. She. too, went
to the hospital. Other cases fol-
lowed.
A special patrol of detectives
was cruising the area nightly
from 6 pm. to pm. on the alert
for the purse-snatcher. On the
might Of February 4, Probationary
Detective Randall C. DeggeS and
Detective Harris l.. Faircloth of
the Fifth Precinct were cruising
when they saw a pair of young
men strolling down the street.
The detectives in their unmarked
car began to follow them. Their
inconspicuous tail" lasted for
blocks.
The strollers paid no attention
to the detectives but they did
notice two uniformed policemen
coming toward them. They threw
a box into the hedge and began
to walk on, but by that time the
two detectives had them. A search
of the hedge showed the box fun
of cartridges.
The men were taken to the
precinct and questioned. The
questioning and the line-upS
that followed cleared up 81
cases in the Fifth and Ninth
Precincts.
Seek Fast Action
BY working the men three
nights a week in addition to
their day shifts, the Robbery
Squad has been able to put
more cruisers on the street
the goal being to get to the
crime scene before the witnesses
disappear and while there is
still a possibility of catching
the criminal in the neighbour
hood.
On the night of March 80.
Detective Sergt. Murray Kutner
sped quickly to the scene Of
purse-snatching. The victim
was a 47-year-old woman at
Ninth and D streets Sc. In the
crowd gathered around the VIC
tim was a little colored girl.
Sergt. Kutner questioned her.
She said she thought one of
the three boys who had at
tackled the woman was called
Candy Man" The name meant
something to a uniformed man
in the precinct. Sergt. Kutner
promptly got an address. In
less than an hour, he had the
three boys and had recovered
the pocketbook with its contents
intact.
Accident Unit AIerted
Members of the Accident In
vestigation Unit are under orders
to pay particular attention to
crime prone areas when not &C.
lively engaged in investigating
accidents.
Pvts. James F. Spicer and Will
liam V. Kelleher of the Accident
Investigation Unit were patrol
ling on the alert for crime on
the night Of last December 7.
when they saw two men run east
on l street NV. and hand some
thing through the window OF a
car parked on Madison place
NV They decided to hold onto
the men and the girl occupants
Of the car for questioning.
Just then, they heard a police
radio call for a scout car to go
TO Sixteenth and l streets NV.
where a woman was screaming.
The two AIU men asked that the
woman be brought to where they
were holding the carload. She
identified one Of the men as the
one who snatched her purse The
pocketbook was recovered from
under the front seat Of the car.
Off-Duty Man Active
In the Third Precinct, accord
ing to Capt. Albert L. Embrey.
the men respond readily to all
calls for volunteers to work their
off-duty hours. Pvt. w. F. Bracy
Of No. 3 was off duty on the
night Of March % when a man
ran out of an alley near Six
teenth and r street NV. with a
pocketbook in his hand. Pvt.
i BTacy caught him. A 60-year-old