Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-05-25
Tip Anonymity
Costs Police
Perfect Case
Suspects Freed
AS Judge Rules
Arrests Illegal
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG
star star Writer

Washington police. who have
been running an obstacle race
among court decisions, have
now discovered that II they fol-
low an anonymous tip to the
suspects they seek, even a per
feet case" may 60 out the win
dow.
They can get all the evidence
they need-the loot Of a rob-
berry, the hold-up gun. a knife,
immediate confessions, 'identi-
flying witnesses-but II they
don't know the tipster who
started the chain of events.
they might as well forget all
about 1t.
That's the way the court
ruled Thursday.
The final irony came yester-
day when one of the defendants
who had walked out Of court a
free man strolled into police
headquarters to seek help in
getting his job back.
He said the detectives had
been so decent to him that he
thought they might talk to his
boss for him.
HospitaIized Man Furious
During his visit to police
headquarters, he confided that
the fourth defendant who, he
said, had feigned insanity, was
furious because he was stuck
at st. Elizabeth's Hospital while
his pals were out on the street.
On a Saturday night, Febru-
airy l, a grocery owned by Linn
X. May at $50 Eleventh street
NE, was held up by three men
while a fourth waited in the
getaway car. One of the BAN
dts showed a pistol while an
other fiourished a knife. The
Chinese grocer fired four shots
at the fleeing bandits and was |
sure that at least one had taken |
effect.
Police issued a lookout for
a man seeking treatment for
a gunshot wound.
The next morning. Sunday, |
a citizen called the police dis
patcher to report that some |
men were trying to extract a
slug from a wounded man at
1907 ! street Sc. The dis
patcher Immediately called the
robbery squad.
Too Good to Ignore
The call. coming less than
IL hours after the holdup,
looked too good to ignore. Five
detectives, led by Capt. Nunzio
Bonaccorsy Of the robbery
squad, and two uniformed men
went to the ! street address.
They were admitted by Their
ium M. Briscoe, 81, of the I
street address. The policemen
scattered through the house.
Capt. Benaccorsy saw someone
he recognized from an earlier
case. The man told him he was
the one who had called, and
gave him the name of the man
who had been shot.
Just then a detective called:
Captain. I've got him."
Capt. Bonaccorsy testified in
court that when he reached
the room from which the detec-
tive had called. he saw a man
with his trousers down and his
buttocks cut where efforts had
been made to extract the slug.
1t was the particular sequence
that figured largely at the trial.
Detectives said even before the
man was asked to let down his
trousers, it was obvious that he
was the man they sought be-
cause he was huddled in a
chair, his face twisted with
pain.
Matter Of Seconds
Capt. Bonaccorsy said he
felt If he had only gotten to
the informer before his men
got to the wounded bandit. the
case might have taken a diff
ferent turn - that it revolved
around a matter of seconds.
After the wounded man, Earl
c. Walls. %, of 127 North Caro-
lima avenue Sc, was packed
on to Casualty Hospital, Bris-
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